


Young Justice Invasion- Blue Beetle

by Padre91



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, Blood and Gore, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:01:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 98,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Padre91/pseuds/Padre91
Summary: This series will follow Blue Beetle and Impulse in any timeframe not shown on the tv show.  Including scenes of violence and romance.  This will be a becoming friends to becoming more story, so a slower burn relationship.  The Blood and Gore tag is listed for a few fight scenes, it isn't horror movie levels of gore and each section of a chapter that has gore is labeled as such.
Relationships: Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Comments: 62
Kudos: 49





	1. The Day after the Reach

El Paso

March 31, 08:00 MDT

Jaime screamed as he felt the waves of electricity wash over his body. The containment pod on board the Reach ship kept his scarab from becoming armor to shield him. The scientist smirked as she watched the tests she was conducting inflict so much pain upon the “meat.” Jaime could feel the sweat rolling off of him as he endured the pain.

 _Jaime Reyes! Wake up!_ The scarab screamed in his head.

Jaime jerked awake, bolting into a sitting position on his bed. Everything felt so real, like he was still in that containment pod. He put a hand to his head and felt the sweat on his forehead, causing him to look down to see that he was positively soaked in the stuff. Thankfully he slept in just sleeping pants; otherwise his shirt would be stuck fast to his chest.

 _You were experiencing a heightened heart rate and showing signs of distress_. The scarab explained to him telepathically. _I thought the best course of action was to remove you from your rest_.

“Thanks hermano,” Jaime sighed. “I had a nightmare that we were still in that Reach containment pod.”

 _Negative,_ the scarab started, _The Impulse removed us from that pod exactly 10 hours ago._

“I know that!” Jaime argued with the scarab. “That’s why I said nightmare; it means a dream that isn’t good.” Jaime groaned as his adrenaline wore off, his muscles were still very sore from several days of being locked up and tested on. He swung his legs off the bed and his feet hit the floor with a solid and slightly unexpected thump. “Ow!” he blurted out.

 _My scans indicate that you are not yet healed from our encounter with the Reach and Black Beetle, Jaime Reyes,_ the scarab explained, _I recommend remaining in bed to allow proper healing to occur. The Nightwing has already issued a letter to your school excusing your absence._

Before Jaime could respond to the scarab, his cell phone ran on his nightstand. He reached over, again not realizing the extent of his injuries and pulling a muscle in his ribs.

“Son of a…” Jaime started, but then remembered that his sister might overhear him through the walls. After a second to recompose himself, he grabbed his phone and answered it. “Hello?”

“Hello Hair-man-o!” an overenthusiastic Bart Allen said greeted over the phone.

“Bart?” Jaime asked. He kind of guessed the answer due to the horrific Spanish pronunciation, but with how his week has gone, he needed to be sure.

“Who else would it be?” Bart asked innocently. “As you know, tomorrow Black Canary wants to meet with all of us and discuss what happened on the Reach ship. But since we have nothing planned for today, I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out.”

“I’m not sure that is a good idea hermano,” Jaime said.

“Why not?” Bart replied. “Is this the whole secret identity thing again? I got to tell you, I feel kind of moded when I have to keep covering my handsome face up.”

Jaime laughed to Bart calling himself handsome, the action of laughing causing some serious pain in his ribs and chest. The pain was enough for him to let out a groan.

“Is everything alright over there Blue?” Bart asked, his tone changing completely from excitement to concern.

“Everything’s fine Bart,” Jaime lied.

 _Scans indicate bruising on right ribs 1-7 and left ribs 1-9_ , the beetle chimed in, _not to mention bruising to deltoids, pectorals, and abdomen muscle groups._

“Enough scarab!” Jaime spat.

“Is the beetle acting up?” Bart’s voice carried a mix of worry and concern.

“No hermano,” Jaime explained, “I'm just suffered some major bruising from the time spent on the Reach ship and the scarab was telling me everything super detailed. By the way, why don’t you sound like you’re in pain?”

“Super metabolism,” Bart bragged, “I could heal from a completely broken leg in about 2 hours with enough food in me.” His normal tone of energy was back, just not as boisterous as before. “Want me to come over and help you get around?”

“Bart, I think I just need a bit of time to rest and relax,” Jaime sighed as he talked.

“Relax!” Bart practically shouted through the phone. “Don’t worry hair-man-o, I know the perfect way to both relax and get you some healing help. Grandma was talking about these things called spas, which we totally don’t have in the future, but she mentioned something about hot springs as well, probably because she had to change her travel plans due to being pregnant and all…”

Jaime couldn’t stop Bart now, not when a rant started. He simply had to sit there and weather the storm.

“…anyway, after a quick google search, which by the way is very crash, a website devoted just to finding things, I found some natural hot springs very close-by to your house called Black Rock Hot Springs.”

“Dude, that’s in New Mexico, hours away from my house!” Jaime explained.

“Not with zeta tubes my man,” Bart said. “Just get a swim suit on and be ready to leave in half an hour, I’ll be there in a flash, no super suit and all.” The phone then clicked off.

Jaime knew he had only two options, either lay back down and let his mom keep Bart at bay or get around and go to these hot springs.

 _My database informs me that hot springs do have some healing properties_ , the scarab said. _However tests are inconclusive as to whether it is the warm water relaxing the muscles or the minerals in the water_.

“I guess that means you want me to go,” Jaime groaned.

 _Affirmative Jaime Reyes,_ the scarab said, _it also gives us a chance to keep an eye on the Impulse to make sure he is telling the truth about this “future” he speaks of_.

Jaime pulled himself off his bed, every muscle in his body firing signals of pain. He decided that he needed a quick rinse off shower from his nightmare sweats, so he shuffled into the bathroom and rinsed off. Even the hot water from the shower felt good on his body. He threw on boxers, jeans, and a black t-shirt and grabbed a draw string bag for his swim trunks and beach towel; he even grabbed some suntan lotion, since he knew his mom would ask anyway. He slid his sneakers on and walked to the front door.

“Hijo,” Jaime’s mom called as he reached the front door. “¿A donde vas?”

“Out with a friend mom,” Jaime replied. “Don’t worry, people from the school won’t see me and I won’t get in trouble, just need to do something.”

“Alright,” she said from the living room, “just be back by curfew.”

“Will do,” Jaime said and opened his front door to see the bright sun for the first time in a week. He stepped onto his sidewalk and waited for Bart, and after the shower and everything, he would probably be there any second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations  
> Hermano- brother  
> Hijo, a donde vas- Son, where are you going
> 
> This series is the exact same as my FanFiction one, so both will be updated at the same time, using my same username.


	2. Black Rock Hot Springs

El Paso

March 31, 08:30 MDT

Jaime stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of his house. The light of the sun was a bit blinding, considering he hadn’t seen it for a week while he was captured by Aqualad and delivered to the Reach. He had to squint his eyes for a few moments and raise his hand to shield his eyes from the brightness. It also didn’t help that El Paso had very little in the way of dark colors to absorb the light, all a sandstone brown for houses, light gray concrete for sidewalks, and the standard old paved roads whose black has dulled to a slightly darker gray than the sidewalk. He pulled his arm down to let his eyes adjust and pulled the front door to his house shut behind him.

“Ready to chill-hang bro?” Bart said, appearing out of nowhere in front of Jaime, his right arm gesturing toward their destination. Jaime jumped slightly at the start, even though he knew it was coming, which caused his already pained muscles to cramp up. Bart stood there in a white t-shirt with a red stripe across the chest, dark blue jeans, and brown hiking boots. He also had a backpack hung over his left shoulder.

“You’ve got to stop doing that hermano!” Jaime said in his startled state. “You’ll scare someone to death one of these times.” He lifted his right hand to rub his chest to try and soothe his muscles.

“I’m so sorry!” Bart apologized and stepped toward Jaime. He reached his right hand out and placed it on Jaime’s shoulder. “I forgot you were still feeling the mode so much, my mind moves a mile a minute,” he explained while lifting his hand from Jaime’s shoulder to gently knock of the side of his head, “unless someone drills the info in here real good, I tend to forget things. Like these clothes.” He gestured down to his attire. “Grandma said that I couldn’t go running around in swim trunks to the middle of a desert so she made me change into this.”

“Dude, you’ve got to stop calling Iris ‘Grandma’ or she’ll kill you,” Jaime responded with a chuckle. This caused more cramps to move through his core, making him wince and stagger slightly.

“Whoa there bud,” Bart said has he used his super speed to move beside Jaime to catch him.

“I’m good,” Jaime said, “just need to get to these springs and sit down.”

“It’d be crash if you wanted to sit here for a minute first,” Bart replied.

“No,” Jaime said, “better get to these hot springs before anyone sees me out and about outside of school.” Jaime straightened himself up, with Bart’s help of course. “The zeta tube is only a few blocks from here.” He looked in the direction of the zeta tube.

“Ok Blue,” Bart said, “but we’ll move at your pace and I’m not leaving your side the whole walk there.”

“Sounds good hermano,” Jaime said with a grin.

The walk to the zeta tube was only about five minutes, but it must have seemed like an eternity to Bart. During the walk, he hummed several different tunes, mainly infomercial tunes he must have watched since coming to this time. He also tapped his hand on his thigh, as though beating along to several songs, although much faster than any normal band would have played them. Jaime could also see Bart looking at the different sites around El Paso, again not much to look at from Jaime’s point of view, but to Bart seeing a city as culturally individual as this and seemingly devoid of people, due to school and work, must have been a spectacle.

They made it to the place where the zeta tube was hidden, behind a heavily graffitied wall.

“So where are we going again?” Jaime asked.

“Black Rock Hot Springs,” Bart answered, “at least I now know that people can forget as easily as me now.” He grinned from ear to ear.

“I know that,” Jaime retorted. “Which zeta tube is closest to the springs?”

“Oh,” Bart said, “it’s Taos, Star Labs to be exact. Don’t worry about surprising them, Grandpa, oops, I mean Barry, called ahead to let them know we are coming and not to be around as they don’t know our secret identities. I think he said we were transporting kryptonite or something.” He raised his hand to rub his chin in thought.

“Want to go first?” Jaime asked.

“Sure thing Blue,” Bart answered, “that way I’ll be all lined up in case you get all wobbly again.” He smiled from ear to ear again and scanned himself into the zeta tube before Jaime could reply.

“Impulse, B 23,” a female robotic voice spoke as a pale blue light scanned his body from head to toe.

“I’ll even have a snack ready in case you pass out,” Bart joked as he disappeared in a golden light.

Jaime rolled his eyes at the space that once held the speedster. He lined up for the computer to scan him.

“Blue Beetle, B 22,” the same female robotic voice spoke, the same pale blue light scanned him from head to toe. In a flash of golden light Jaime was no longer in El Paso, but was inside the Star Labs zeta tube. 

Taos

March 31, 08:35 MDT

The first thing Jaime noticed was intense pain wracking through his body. The pain was enough to make him let out a decently loud groan as his knees buckled and he began to topple forward. He felt a firm hand grab his shoulder and gently guide him to a kneeling position.

 _We are being attacked!_ The scarab shouted in Jaime’s mind. The scarab began producing the blue and black armor that Blue Beetle was known for.

“No!” Jaime demanded at the scarab. He began to will the armor back into the scarab. He forced his eyes open to see Bart kneeling in front of him, his usual cheery expression gone and replaced with a look of intense worry. “It’s just Bart! He’s helping me, remember?”

“Everything good Jaime?” Bart asked is a quiet tone. This was one of the few times that Jaime remembered Bart using his name instead of some nickname. Bart kept his hand on Jaime’s shoulder to keep him steady.

“Yeah Bart,” Jaime strained to say, “The scarab thought you were attacking me while my defense was down.” The scarab retracted the armor and returned to its restful state. “I’m guessing that using zeta tubes wasn’t a smart move.”

“It’s crash with me if you want to take a bit to rest,” Bart said. He then gently pushed Jaime into a sitting position, got up and ran at his usual super speed to push a few buttons on the controls for the zeta tubes and lock the door, before returning to sit down in the zeta tube cross legged opposite of Jaime. He pulled the backpack off his shoulder and opened the main compartment. He reached in and grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Jaime. “Nothing like a quick snack to get your strength back.”

Jaime gave Bart a strange look before taking the bottle of water from him.

“Gracias,” he said, “why do you have food and such in your backpack? How long do you plan to be at this hot spring?” Jaime knew that speedsters needed food more often due to their faster metabolism, but the fact he seemed to have enough for two people was weird.

“Well,” Bart began explaining, “you need to rest and relax and we have a whole day until we are needed, so I figured we could spend a good portion of the day just chill-hanging.” He then reached in his bag and pulled out a bag of freeze dried chicken whizees and handed them to Jaime. “I owed you a bag for eating yours the other day and they should help give you energy.”

Jaime took the bag from Bart and opened it. He managed to get a few bites in and drink some of the water before he had enough. Even though it was only a small amount of food and water, it did make him feel slightly better.

“Thanks hermano,” Jaime sighed. “I think I am good to get moving to this spring.” He opened his eyes and saw that Bart had finished off his own bag of chicken whizees in that short amount of time, and was just finishing off his own bottle of water.

“Sure thing there Blue,” Bart said and stood up. He reached a hand down and helped Jaime get to his feet, it was a slower process than Jaime would care to admit, but it was doable. “Now suit up,” he said, “with your flight and my speed, we should get there in a few minutes.”

Jaime willed the scarab to cover him in his armor; the blue and black plating covered him entirely, all except his drawstring bag. Bart ran to turn the zeta tube back online and unlocked the door; he then came back to Jaime’s side to help him walk out of the lab. Once outside, Jaime took to the sky on his now extended blue wings while Bart ran on the ground. The scenery moved by too quickly to really discern anything, just blurs of tan, brown, and green. Once they got closer, Jaime could see Bart run to the farthest hot spring, after a much faster run through the area. Jaime landed next to it and stumbled slightly, minor pain compared to before from the sudden landing.

“I’m good,” Jaime said while putting his hand up to stop Bart as he already began coming over to help him. The armor disappeared from Jaime’s body back into the scarab. He needed to stand on his own right now. “Anyone else here?”

“Nope,” Bart answered, “we’ve got this place all to ourselves, totally crash!” Bart spun in a circle at his usual super speed and was changed into his swim trunks in no time. Red trunks with a single white stripe down the side of both legs. “Now let’s get on in this hot spring!” He turned and began to approach the steaming water.

“Wait!” Jaime shouted and held up a hand in a stop motion. Again, the sudden movement was not helping him in the slightest, causing him to tense up. He saw Bart stop and turn around to look at him. “Two things. First, you can’t just dive into a hot spring like any other body of water, there’s a reason the word hot is in the title. Second, if we are going to be outside in swimwear, we need to put suntan lotion on, ese.” Jaime pulled the yellow bottle of suntan lotion from his bag.

Bart ran over at his usual super speed and grabbed the bottle from Jaime’s hand. “Totally crash!” he exclaimed. “Never heard of this stuff before Blue, is it going to make us tan instantly?” He began reading the bottle front and back. Before Jaime could answer, “Wait! We have to put this on and wait 30 minutes?!”

“Sí,” Jaime said, “my mother always taught me to put on suntan lotion before swimming. She doesn’t want us to get sick from exposure and no, it will not make us tan instantly, that takes time in the sun.” Jaime reached in his bag and pulled out his swim trunks and towel. He looked around and saw only some rocks and the Rio Grande flowing past, nowhere to change in private. He looked over at Bart who was reading the lotion bottle still. This was like any other time he’s had to change at the cave or in school, both of which had group shower rooms that were gender specific, why the sudden embarrassment to change now?

 _Is there a problem Jaime Reyes?_ The scarab asked.

“No, no problem,” Jaime responded.

“There’s a problem?” Bart asked. He looked up from the bottle and over at Jaime, who had his neck slightly turned while he talked to the scarab.

“The scarab’s just chatty,” Jaime lied, a slight blush coming onto his cheeks.

 _Negative,_ the scarab responded, _I am only responding to bodily responses. There were hesitations in your movements and concern for possible observers. My scans tell me that there are no human biorhythms within 2 miles of this location besides Jaime Reyes and the Impulse._

“No problem Blue,” Bart said and went back to reading the bottle. “Just change and help me figure out how to apply this stuff so we can get into those springs.”

Jaime glanced over at Bart to make sure he was actually reading the bottle of suntan lotion. He then slowly began changing into his swim trunks. The unbuttoning of his jeans and the belt were easy, the bending down to take them off was the hard part. He forgot that he was loosened up by the hot shower when putting his clothes on and now his muscles were cold again. He held his breath as he changed, making sure not to make a sound in distress and gain Bart’s attention. In a matter of moments, his pants and boxers were replaced with swim trunks, and only minor back pain to boot. He breathed deep in relaxation, but then he remembered he needed to take his shirt off. This one wasn’t a matter of embarrassment, but a matter of extending his arms to actually remove his shirt. He began the process; each arm raise sent what felt like needles of fire through his arms, chest, and back. He couldn’t hold in a small groan as he actually freed an arm from a sleeve.

“Everything alright over there Blue?” Bart asked. Jaime looked over and saw Bart staring at him with a look of concern on his face.

“Just peachy,” Jaime strained out, “listen Bart, I just need to do this on my own, gotta get these muscles working again is all.” Jaime strained and got his shirt off. He panted a few breaths in from all the pain and stuffed his clothing in the drawstring bag. The muscles in his chest and arms were tense and he could feel himself beginning to sweat. After a deep breath he began explaining suntan lotion.

“Suntan lotion keeps you safe from the harmful rays of the sun, ese,” he began, “you simply need to put a small amount of the lotion on your hands and rub it into your skin until you can’t see it anymore.”

“Okay?” Bart questioned. “But what about my super metabolism? I’m pretty sure I can heal faster than the sun does damage. Also, how much of us do we need to cover?” Jaime could see the wheels turning in Bart’s head.

“Not sure how your metabolism works,” Jaime responded, “but it is better to be safe than sorry, plus my mom would kill me if she knew that I let a friend go without suntan lotion. As far as how much to cover, just the parts where your skin is exposed.” Jaime could feel his breathing become normal again and his muscles assume their usual tense state.

“Got it Blue!” Bart said enthusiastically. He put a rather large glob of the white lotion in his palm and moved at his usual super speed, coating his body in the stuff. From what Jaime could see, he followed his directions; Bart’s skin had the glistening sheen of lotion, everywhere except his back. “Drat!” he exclaimed, “I’m totally moded Blue, can’t reach back here.” He made his arms twist and contort, trying to put the lotion on his back, but to no avail.

Jaime chuckled, loud enough for Bart to hear him, which caused the speedster to look over at him and grin widely.

“No one can reach their back,” Jaime said with another chuckle, “you usually need someone to help you out.” There was a rush of wind as soon as he finished that sentence.

 _Attack imminent!_ The scarab screamed in Jaime’s head.

“No!” Jaime screamed, his face losing the smile and quickly changing to a look of horror.

“No problem Blue,” Bart said, now from behind Jaime. “I’ve already got it on my hands, so I’ll get you, here,” he handed Jaime the bottle of lotion, “get ready to put some on my back and then you can lotion yourself up.” Jaime felt Bart’s cold hand touch his back and he jumped slightly at it. “Sorry Blue, didn’t know you hurt that much,” Bart apologized.

“It’s not that Bart,” Jaime said, “the lotion makes your hands cold.”

“Not a problem that a little friction can’t solve,” Bart declared. When he touched Jaime’s back again he began vibrating his hand with his super speed. Jaime could feel the vibrations move through his back. The heat caused by the friction and the motion relaxed his muscles, he let out a relieved sigh. “Sorry, didn’t hurt you again did I?”

“No hermano,” Jaime reassured, “the heat and vibrating feels good on the muscles. That’s why the hot springs sounded like a good idea.”

“Crash!” Bart yelled. He finished putting the lotion on Jaime’s back and then turned around. “Ok, finish me up and then in we go!”

 _The Impulse has let his guard down and is vulnerable,_ the scarab started, _I suggest we eliminate him while we can_.

“I thought you wanted to get close to him,” Jaime said to the scarab.

“You need me to get closer?” Bart asked and backed up towards Jaime, now only inches from him. “Not a problem, got to be nice to your muscles and all.”

_I would like more information about this “future” he comes from, but the tactical advantage of taking out a threat who isn’t expecting it is too great._

Jaime put some lotion on his hand and began to rub it on Bart’s back. “Bart has been nothing but an amigo since he arrived, he isn’t a threat and he is from the future,” Jaime whispered to the scarab. Compared to Jaime’s back, Bart’s back was surprisingly limber, but Jaime could also tell that Bart was impatient, as the speedster swayed slightly even as it only took a minute to apply the lotion.

“Now just hold on a minute while I put my lotion on,” Jaime said. His process took a bit more time, as bending was involved for his legs and moving his arms around, but it was done in a matter of minutes.

They made their way over to the spring, the water gave off steam and there seemed to be a slight current within the pool. Despite all that the water was clear. Jaime could see a few larger rocks had been placed into the spring to act as seats and that the bottom of it was stones smoothed by the passage of time and water. Jaime sat down on the edge of the hot spring.

“What’s the matter amigo?” Bart asked. “We got the lotion on, we’re good to go!”

“Don’t you remember what you read on the bottle, ese?” Jaime chuckled. “We have to wait 30 minutes after applying the lotion before getting into water.”

Bart let out an exacerbated groan. “That’s totally not crash!” He flopped down on the edge of the hot spring and stared longingly into the water. The two sat in silence for a few awkward minutes.

“So…” Jaime started to speak. “About this future where I become a villain…”

Bart’s head snapped to turn and look at Jaime. “That’s not you! It is what the Reach want and I’m going to make sure they don’t get it!” Jaime was taken aback at the sudden change in Bart’s character. The usual light-hearted demeanor was gone and it was replaced with a serious and point-driven person.

“I know,” Jaime sighed, “but it is still me, under that armor. Do you know when the Reach finally gets what it wants?” Jaime looked down into his lap, not truly wanting the answer, but knowing would eliminate any surprises.

“No dude,” Bart sighed and looked down into his lap. “In the future, none of us know what turned you exactly, maybe it’s telling the league of the future, maybe it was staying with the Reach for longer than you did, the point is,” Bart looked up at Jaime and the two of them locked eyes with each other, “I’m not going to let the Reach get a hold of you.”

Jaime could feel his cheeks flush, but he could also see that Bart’s cheeks were also turning red.

“Not in a serious romantic way or anything,” Bart blurted out. “Just in a totally crash superhero way, one that will be remembered in all the history books.” Bart turned his eyes towards the hot spring.

Jaime stared at Bart for a few moments. This was truly one of the only times that Bart seemed to have shown his true self, not the jokester and self-confident front that he always put up. Jaime reached a hand forward and placed it on Bart’s shoulder.

“Gracias hermano,” Jaime said relieved. After a few moments of silence, Jaime decided they had waited enough. “I think we’ve waited long enough ese. Let’s get in this spring!” Bart practically jumped into the hot spring. He let out a sigh of relief as the hot water washed over his body, the water coming up to his chest as he sat on one of the rocks. The pool was definitely deeper than most springs. Jaime lowered himself in slowly, not because he wasn’t as eager as Bart, but simply because he needed to do so with his taught muscles. As soon as his butt sat on the rock within the spring, he let out a sigh. He purposefully went for a deeper part of the spring than Bart, since he was taller and wanted to get neck deep in the water.

“See hair-man-o, rest and relaxation can be done with your ah-me-go or alone,” Bart bragged.

“You were right for once,” Jaime joked with Bart, “this definitely beats just lying in bed all day.” Jaime leaned his head back against the rocks that encircled the spring and closed his eyes.

“Well,” Bart started while bringing his arms up out of the pool and resting them back with his elbows on the rocks encircling the spring, the ultimate relaxed pose, “if you ever need another day just to chill-hang, simply call me up anytime Blue…Jaime?” He looked over and saw that Jaime had fallen asleep, mouth slightly open, and body completely relaxed in the spring.


	3. Shadows Unfold

Black Rock Hot Springs

March 31, 09:42 MDT

Jaime heard the sound of water splashing nearby, which caused him to stir awake. He groggily opened his eyes and saw Bart trying and failing to get out of the hot spring quietly.

“This is so not crash,” Bart whispered to himself as his hand slipped off a rock and slapped the water. “Stupid water making me feel the mode with no friction and all.” He glanced over at Jaime to see that he was blinking at him in his fumbling state. “Sorry Blue!” He continued to whisper, “don’t mind me, just go back to sleep.” He wasn’t watching where he was grabbing as he talked to Jaime and his hand happened to slip on the same rock and slapped the water yet again.

Jaime chuckled, “seems you have a bit of a problem there hermano.” He yawned and then stretched his arms upward in the traditional waking up motion. It was only when his arms felt the cool air after being in the water that he remembered where he was. He brought his hands down and wiped his eyes to clear his vision.

 _Scans indicate no true healing properties in the hot spring,_ the Scarab said. _Although your muscular system is relaxed and more fluid, as it should be, which is promoting a more rapid healing process_.

“Seems the hot springs did some good after all,” Bart said at his normal volume. “You’re moving like normal, arms raised up an all.”

“Yeah,” Jaime mused as he didn’t even feel in pain anymore, “sorry for falling asleep, I know you wanted to hang out.” He finally blinked again and his vision completely cleared.

“Not a problem Blue, you had it the worst out of any of us, feel free to go back to sleep if you need to.” Bart then stood up and climbed out of the spring with his full attention, not having to worry about waking Jaime now.

“No, that would be rude. You thought of this little hang out session and it’s definitely working. What are you doing anyway?” Jaime noticed that Bart was moving for his backpack and opening the main compartment.

“Just getting some breakfast. Would you like some?” He pulled out a small cooler and opened it. From the cooler, he procured two breakfast sandwiches, the kind that need microwaved, and two small personal bottles of orange juice.

“How exactly do you plan to heat those up out here?” Jaime was curious as to how much food he actually brought with him.

“Easy.” With that, Bart took a breakfast sandwich in each hand, sitting the orange juices on the ground. He then vibrated his hands at super speed. Within seconds, the sandwiches were steaming hot. “Ow ow ow!” Bart fumbled with the suddenly hot food, sitting them on the ground since they were still in their wrappings.

Jaime laughed at the speedster burning his hands, not a malicious laugh, but a friendly, warm, belly laugh. “You might want to wear oven mitts the next time you do that.”

“Noted,” Bart said and shook his hands to get some air on them.

“Anyway, all I am saying is that a nice trip to a hot spring should be relaxing,” a male voice came from behind both Jaime and Bart, coming from the direction of the road that was roughly a mile away.

Both boys turned to see two figures that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The one who spoke was a teenage boy, probably a year or two older than Bart at a glance. His black hair, blue eyes, and fair skin made him stand out as a tourist in the area. The woman next to him looked to be in her 20s, her tan skin and black hair gave off the appearance of someone from the Middle East. They looked ready to jump in the hot spring by the looks of the boy’s black swim trunks and the woman’s black bikini, not to mention the towels in their arms.

The two people stopped abruptly when they saw Jaime in the hot spring and Bart standing nearby, although it was hard to tell where the woman was looking with her sunglasses on.

“I thought you said this place was deserted,” the woman whispered to the boy.

“It was,” he whispered back.

 _Something is wrong Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab chimed in. _My sonic scans detect two humans, but my thermal scans detect only one human. My sensors also did not detect their approach. I suggest we eliminate the threat._

Jaime rolled his eyes, Scarab always wanted to “eliminate the threat” even when one wasn’t present. He also made sure to keep his back against the rocks of the hot spring, as to not show the scarab.

“Sorry,” the boy said loud enough for Bart and Jaime to hear, “didn’t realize there were people here, there wasn’t a car parked nearby.”

“Not a problem,” Bart exclaimed and motioned to the hot spring. “More than enough room for two more people. Isn’t that right Blue?” He looked over at Jaime for reassurance and the stern look he got back to saying part of his code name made Bart realize what he said. “I mean, his name is Jaime, I just call him ‘Blue’ as a nickname, we’re just hanging out here to help him heal…notthatheneedshealingwejustwantedtogetaway…”

“Bart!” Jaime said and stopped the speedster from rambling on. He looked back to the new arrivals, “sorry, he tends to ramble when he thinks too much. I’m Jaime and this is Bart, feel free to join us.”

“Thanks!” the boy said and moved to the other side of the hot spring to set his towel down, the woman following a little less enthusiastically.

Jaime felt a chill run down his spine as the woman walked by; he couldn’t help but feel as though she were staring at him.

They both made their way into the hot spring and settled down, Bart doing the same with the breakfast he had just heated up, sitting them by the edge of the spring.

“Couldn’t have beat us here by much,” the boy mused, “your sandwiches are still hot.”

“Sorry I don’t have enough for everyone,” Bart apologized.

“Not a problem,” the boy responded, “Bria’s people made us a big breakfast before we left.” He tilted his head towards the woman next to him. “I’m Gavin by the way.” Gavin held out his hand and shook both Jaime’s and Bart’s hands with only mild splashing in the hot spring. Bart held out his hand to shake Bria’s hand.

“Sorry kid,” Bria responded, “not much of a hand shaker.” She laid her head back against the rocks behind her.

 _My sonic scans remain consistent with 2 humans arriving here, however my thermal scans are acquiring new data,_ the Scarab told Jaime.

“What’s that exactly,” Jaime said, forgetting that there were new, non-hero people around him. “I mean, why is that exactly?” He pulled his right arm out of the water and rubbed the back of his head.

“Just not one for physical contact,” Bria explained, “the only people that I’ve met that actually want to touch me generally want something, be it money, fame, or…other things.” She smirked slightly at that last item on her list, noticing that it made her current company slightly uncomfortable.

_My thermal scans show an increase in all your body temperatures within the hot spring, as is expected, however this Bria had no thermal or bio-sign readings before entering the spring. Her thermals are increasing to the temperature of the spring, similar to a cold-blooded creature, but her bio-sign readings still show nothing, as if she were expired._

“Sorry for any implications,” Bart apologized, “I just like meeting new people and this hot spring is totally crash!”

“Crash?” Gavin asked.

Jaime groaned and covered his face. “It’s his phrase for when things are cool.”

“That’s cool!” Gavin said. “Don’t let us take away from your breakfast though; you’ll want to eat those before they get cold.”

A few minutes of awkward silence came over the group and Jaime ate slowly, since it was strange with new people and all. Bart scarfed his down and chugged his orange juice.

“So what brings two teens out here on a school day like this?” Bria asked once the painful experience of breakfast was over. She tilted her head back upright to look at the two of them. “I assume you chose this hot spring due to your ‘injury?’”

Bart began to open his mouth, but Jaime actually beat him to a response.

“I started taking up weight lifting,” Jaime blurted out. “I thought I could lift more than I should have, Bart here was my spotter and helped me out when I was losing the weights. My school knows I’m here.”

“Right,” Bart added, “I’m homeschooled with my great grandparents in Central City.”

Jaime rolled his eyes; she clearly didn’t need all that information.

“Central City you say,” Bria mused, “you’re quite a long way away from there.”

“The doctor’s given me a bit of time off from school,” Jaime chimed back in while giving Bart a bit of a death glare, “Bart’s hanging out with me until I get better.”

“It’s my mission to make sure Jaime stays good,” Bart added, still not getting that he shouldn’t be talking about the superhero life.

“That’s nice of you Bart,” Bria smirked at Bart. “To be the kind of friend to drop what they’re doing and help someone.”

Bart was a little confused at the comment. “That’s what I do for my friends, help out when I can, and rush to their side in a flash.”

“So what brings you two out here?” Jaime asked.

“I am also homeschooled,” Gavin answered.

“I’m an adult,” Bria said matter-of-factly. “Have been for a while, plus I’m rich, so working isn’t really a thing I need to do.”

“What do you do?” Bart asked instinctually.

“Oh,” Bria mused, “a little of this and a little of that. I primarily own majority shares in Coca-Cola, Burger King, Crest Toothpaste, and a Russian Vodka company. But that is all boring paperwork stuff, my passions lie with fighting.”

“Like MMA?” Jaime asked, raising an eyebrow at the comment.

“Exactly like MMA,” Gavin blurted out. “I also fill most of her free time since she is my legal guardian.”

 _Perimeter breach Jaime Reyes! Black Beetle is locked onto our position and is exactly 2 minutes from arriving_.

Panic came across Jaime’s face; he could feel all the blood rush from his face.

“Everything alright Jaime?” Bart asked, turning his head to face Jaime. His usual chipper demeanor washed away with a look of concern.

“We need to get out of here,” Jaime choked out.

“Sure thing Jaime,” Bart said and looked over at his backpack. “It will just take me a minute to get packed up.”

“Hello Brother,” Black Beetle said looking directly at Jaime as he descended from the sky and landed about 10 feet away from the hot spring. “You didn’t think that we wouldn’t be able to find you after your stay with us, did you?”

The three boys in the hot spring looked stunned at the arrival of Black Beetle, with her sunglasses still over her eyes, Bria’s expression was pretty unreadable, but her mouth didn’t hang open like the others.

“I even see one of the meta-meat is with you,” Black Beetle gazed at Bart and then to the two others, “and two more subjects to test on.” He raised his right arm and with the sound of metal moving, it changed into his sonic cannon. He aimed it at the hot spring and fired. The same whirring noise emitted from cannon as purple rings of energy shot at the group.

With a splash of the water and a shout of the word “Contego!” a black sphere encased the hot spring, shielding them from the sonic cannon’s blast. Bart and Jaime spun their heads around to see Gavin’s right hand outstretched toward Black Beetle, a look of intense concentration on his face.

“Nice one Gavin,” Bria remarked, “your reaction time is getting better.”

“It’s nice,” Gavin strained, “when they talk first…can you stop…his attack now.”

Bria chuckled and stood up in the hot spring. She took her sunglasses off and for the first time Jaime and Bart could see her eyes, they were a deep red color, still human with a pupil and everything, just the iris was the color of blood. She handed them to Bart. “Hold on to these for me.”

“Interesting,” Black Beetle stated, he ended his assault and turned retracted his sonic cannon.

Gavin ended his spell and the black sphere shrunk back into the shadows cast by the rocks of the spring. Bria was already out of the spring and walking calmly over to Black Beetle.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Bria said as she walked towards Black Beetle.

Black Beetle assumed a readied stance, “Gratitude for more than just a simple pick up.” Once Bria was in arm’s reach he swung his right fist at her. With a resounding thud, his fist collided with her face, causing her to turn her head slightly to the right, but then rolling off through the hit. His confident look was replaced by a look of confusion.

“Wow,” Bria said as she turned her head back to Black Beetle, “you’re pretty strong, you actually made me move slightly. My turn!” With her shout, she raised her right hand and swung her fist at his face. The sound of cracking metal rung throughout the small canyon surrounding the river and hot springs, Black Beetle was sent flying backwards a good 20 feet before smashing into a boulder, causing cracks to spread out in a spider web pattern from his impact. He slumped down to the ground and lay motionless, his face contorted in pain, letting out a slight groan.

“I thought he’d put up more of a fight than that,” Bria said with disappointment in her voice. She turned on her heels and walked back toward the hot spring. “Mind getting rid of that Gavin?”

“Where exactly do you want me to put it?” Gavin asked.

“I don’t know, the moon maybe?” Bria pondered as she knelt down and got back into the hot spring.

“You never ask for anything easy,” Gavin sighed. He held out his right hand toward Black Beetle and stared at him with concentration, his eyes becoming completely black just before he spoke, “motus lunae.” The shadows underneath Black Beetle writhed and sprung to life, sending black tendrils to wrap around him. He was then pulled into their quivering mass and in the next moment, he was gone. Gavin’s eyes turned their normal blue color again and he let out a strained sigh. “There, one Reach Beetle on the moon.”

“What are you two?” Jaime managed to choke out once his brain and mouth began communicating again.

“I guess it’s fair since they’ve seen us in action and we know he’s a Beetle,” Gavin sighed and looked at Bria.

“I’d even guess he’s Blue Beetle with Bart’s little ‘nickname,’” Bria chuckled.

Bart blushed slightly; he still didn’t understand this whole secret identity thing.

“I’m Gavin Cethin,” Gavin started, “I am a mage, specifically a shadow mage, although I know a fair bit of illusions and necromancy.”

“And I’m Bria Reynolds,” Bria smiled at Jaime and Bart. Her upper eye teeth extended and looked sharp. “I’m a vampire; can I have my sunglasses back please?” She held out her right hand and this time Jaime and Bart noticed a gold ring on her middle finger, a simple golden band with a blood red stone in it. Bart handed her the sunglasses back and she put them back on. “I’d be willing to bet you’re a speedster. Considering you’re from a city a good distance away, you make speed puns, you’re from Flash’s home turf, you demolished your food, and most importantly Black there said you were a meta.”

Bart’s mouth hung open with her rattling off information about him.

“How come we’ve never heard of you?” Jaime asked, breaking the stunned silence.

“Simple,” Bria explained, “we do things in the shadows. We deal with more mystical threats and I’ve got to whip Cethin here into fighting shape for his little war.”

“I didn’t mean we had to tell them everything,” Gavin groaned.

“Hold on a minute!” Bart suddenly shouted, causing everyone to turn their heads towards him. “I know you now! You’re Red Death,” he pointed to Bria, “and you’re Night Master,” he pointed to Gavin, “this is so CRASH! I never thought I’d get to meet the two of you!”

“What are you talking about?” Bria sighed.

“I’m Impulse, grandson of the Flash,” Bart started, which caused Jaime to groan and face palm himself. “I’m from the future, where the Reach take over Earth, you two are leaders in the resistance against the Reach. Their tech can’t keep up against your magic and their warriors need to attack you in swarms just to do any damage. Gavin, you’re much younger than I remember, but I guess that’s how time travel works. Bria, you look the same, but being a vampire makes total sense now.”

“Time travel huh?” Bria mused. “Good to know I’m still kicking ass in the future.”

“So I take it your injuries weren’t caused by weight lifting?” Gavin asked Jaime.

“Not exactly,” Jaime said, “we were captured by the Reach and they tried to reset my scarab, with a ton of electricity.”

“I can help with that,” Gavin said, “provided you want some healing.”

“Hold up NM,” Bart interjected. “I thought you said shadows, illusions, and necromancy, none of those sound like healing to me.”

“Granted, water and light have the best healing spells, necromancy isn’t just doom and gloom,” Gavin explained. “Necromancy is the manipulation of life energy, I can do minor healing, just not the big stuff.”

“Go for it hermano,” Jaime said to Gavin.

Gavin moved to Jaime and placed a hand on each shoulder, his eyes again went completely black just before he spoke, “sana.” Bart watched as Jaime’s shadow appeared cracked and broken and drew in shadows from Gavin’s own shadow, making itself whole again. Jaime felt a strange rush pass through Gavin’s hands and into his body, it felt like being under a weighted blanket, a slight pressure pressed on the injured parts of his body and then nothing.

“Gracias,” Jaime said as Gavin backed away from him to sit back down. “I don’t even feel like I’m injured anymore.”

 _Scans indicate your muscular structure is 100% intact,_ the Scarab said, _although these two are new threats to consider. I suggest a surprise attack now to eliminate the targets._

“No!” Jaime spat at his scarab.

“Let me guess,” Bria said, “your little blue bundle of joy wanted to eliminate us?”

“How did you…” Jaime started.

“I was here when that thing landed on Earth,” Bria explained, “I was also the one that brought the scarab to be cleansed. So you can say we’ve had our own little banter while we were smacking the shit out of each other. That was back before I realized my true power.” Bria raised her hand up to admire her ring.

“How old are you?!” Jaime asked in shock.

Bria glanced over at Gavin. “Let’s just say I’ve been around awhile,” she said with a smirk.

“Black there said they could track him,” Gavin pondered. “I assume the cleansing you helped with used magic?”

“Sure did,” Bria said, “lots of priestesses chanting, incense burning, the whole nine yards.”

“So maybe I could cloak him from the Reach with an illusion,” Gavin raised his right hand to stroke his chin.

“I’ll take anything you’ve got!” Jaime shouted.

“I’ll have to touch the scarab to do the spell, since I am technically putting the spell on the scarab and not you,” Gavin explained.

“You sure about this Blue?” Bart asked with concern.

“Yes hermano,” Jaime turned around to show the scarab to Gavin.

 _I find this tactic ineffectual, we don’t know that magic will be able to do anything to Reach technology,_ the Scarab protested.

Gavin reached his right hand to touch the scarab. The scarab acted instinctually and began deploying its armor. Gavin pulled his hand back at the sudden movement.

“No!” Jaime strained and forced the armor back into the scarab. “We need to be able to hide from the Reach and they’ve proven capable.”

 _One successful engagement with our enemy does not make a person capable,_ the scarab protested. _All they’ve proven is to be a threat to this Scarab._

“Go on Gavin,” Jaime strained to hold the scarab back. “I can hold it like this, but not for long.”

Gavin stuck his hand out again and touch the metal scarab, with his necromancy he could sense it was alive, just not like anything he’s ever felt before. He took a deep breath and his eyes turned completely black before speaking, “vestigia ejus.” For a brief moment Gavin’s shadow crept down his arm in vein like patterns, growing thicker until his hand was completely engulfed in shadow. The shadow bled from his hand and onto the scarab, fully encasing it in a black shell, before sinking into the cracks of the scarab and disappearing. Gavin pulled his hand away and settled back down.

“Did it work?” Bart asked.

 _Internal diagnostics complete,_ the Scarab said. _This unit is no longer transmitting a subspace signal_.

“You were transmitting a signal?” Jaime asked.

 _This unit was unaware the signal was activated, just as we are unaware of a lot of our previous time on Earth_.

“No more signal now?” Bart asked.

“No more signal. Thanks hermano,” Jaime said.

“Ok,” Gavin sighed, “enough magic for now, let’s just relax like we planned on doing.” Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Latin Translations:  
> Contego- Shield  
> Motus lunae- Move to the moon  
> Sana- Heal  
> Vestigia ejus- Cover his tracks


	4. Questions Abound

Black Rock Hot Springs

March 31, 12:12 MDT

“Wait a second,” Jaime said in disbelief, “you’re telling me that she knows Dracula?” Jaime raised an open hand to gesture towards Bria but still maintaining eye contact with Gavin. “As in _The_ Dracula, Count of Transylvania, the Prince of Darkness himself?”

“Technically it was Wallachia back then,” Bria chimed in, “and ‘Prince of Darkness,’ really?” Her eyes weren’t visible, but the sound of her voice made it clear that she was definitely rolling her eyes.

“Wait!” Bart shouted, causing the rest of them to look at him, making him blush from all the attention. “Am I supposed to know this Dracula?” There was a stunned silence that followed his question.

“Ha!” Bria let out a deep belly laugh. “You’re telling me that you know about me in the future, but Mr. Famous gets forgotten about? Kid, you made my day with that bit of news.”

“Hold on hermano,” Jaime started, “of all the things you know in the future, you’ve never heard of Dracula?”

“A lot of human history gets destroyed by the Reach,” Bart’s voice decreasing to a whisper as he was explaining.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, ese,” Jaime comforted, putting a hand on Bart’s shoulder. “Until a few hours ago, I thought vampires were just a myth.”

Bria smirked at the two boys comforting each other, “I guess we need to head back for lunch Gavin, Hodgkins will not like that we are already late.”

“Ne nos inducas in domum cibi de Bria,” Gavin’s eyes again turned completely black as he chanted his spell. The shadows of the rocks that comprised the hot spring stretched out and formed a pool about 10 feet away. They shook slightly as a large wooden table and six chairs rose out of them. A large spread of food, some of it still steaming from being freshly cooked, was displayed across the table and there were settings at each of the chairs with good quality china and silverware.

“That’s my dining room set Gavin!” Bria exclaimed.

“I know,” Gavin said with his own smirk. “We were just having a good conversation and I figured your staff makes enough food to feed a small army at each meal that we had enough to share some.”

“But my furniture isn’t meant to sit outside,” Bria huffed.

“It’s not raining, muddy, or uneven ground,” Gavin explained. “None of it will be damaged and even if it would get damaged, it’s not like you don’t have the money to fix or replace it.”

Gavin stood up and climbed out of the hot spring. He grabbed his towel and began drying off. “Don’t be shy you guys; there is plenty of food for all of us.”

Jaime and Bart looked at each other briefly in disbelief. A few hours ago they had gone there to relax, heal some, and “chill-hang,” now they were going to eat lunch with a mage and a vampire, at the vampire’s table, summoned by the mage. Not to mention a very quick fight with Black Beetle that didn’t result in their butts being handed to them. Both Jaime and Bart stood up and climbed out of the hot spring.

Jaime felt the cooler air hit his skin and noticed that he muscled didn’t tense up in pain, but then again, he wasn’t use to the whole magical healing thing. He dried off at a normal human pace, but Bart did not. In a matter of a second, Bart was completely dry and making his way toward the table. It took Jaime a minute to catch up.

Bria moved much slower than the rest of them, not because she was slower, but because she didn’t have the same feeding requirements as the boys did.

“This is so crash!” Bart shouted as he looked at all the food.

Jaime made his way over and could finally see what Bart saw. There were several trays with cooked vegetables on them; potatoes, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. One tray had steaks on it that looked peculiar, with strange patterns on it that reminded Jaime of marble cake. A bowl had fresh strawberries and blueberries. Finally, a silver circular tray had a lid on it and a golden seal around the lid where it touched the tray, with 6 small plates with 6 forks sat next to it. There were also 6 wine glasses, 3 pitchers of ice water and a bottle of liquid that appeared to be wine. Jaime’s mouth must have been hanging open and lost in thought, because he didn’t even notice Bria as she appeared next to him.

“Nice spread,” she commented. “I think Hodgkins outdid himself today, can’t wait to try this wagyu beef.” Bria sat at the head of the table and began filling her plate with food.

“Bria!” Gavin blurted out. “We don’t know if Bart or Jaime want to pray before we eat.”

“Boys,” Bria said, stopped filling her plate, and looked up at Jaime and Bart. “Pick a god or goddess and pray to them quietly, I’ve pissed off my fair share of them and don’t need them honing in on your prayers and finding me.”

Jaime just stared at Bria in confusion for a moment before shaking himself out of it and sitting down to fill up his plate. He sat to the left of Bria, Bart sitting next to him, and Gavin sitting to the right of Bria. Jaime noticed that Bria’s steak looked a little on the rare side and that the bottle of wine was right next to her plate. As she poured it into her glass, the scarab noticed something.

 _Biological scans indicate that this Bria Reynolds is drinking human blood,_ the Scarab said. _According to all known human bio-samples, this would provide no nutrients and is pointless_.

Bria noticed that Jaime was staring at her glass and finished filling it up before addressing him. “I bet you’re wondering what I’m drinking.”

“No!” Jaime said quickly. “I mean, my scarab told me that it’s blood, I guess it’s just something I never thought I’d see.”

“No worries,” Bria said, bringing the glass up to her mouth and taking a sip. “Gavin here nearly passed out the first time her saw me drink blood.” She smirked and took another sip.

“To be fair,” Gavin replied. “You weren’t drinking it from a glass and acting all lady-like.” Gavin pointed his knife he was using to cut his steak with at her. “You were attached to some mobster’s throat and you had a lot more of his blood down your face, neck, and front.”

“I would never eat so sloppily,” Bria said with a gasp, as though she had just been accused of something heinous. “We had just finished taking on a lead to find _your family’s_ killer, besides, I needed a refill after taking on that demon they summoned.”

Jaime and Bart looked at each other and began eating, Jaime much slower than Bart, they figured they were about to get an earful with this story.

New York City

March 31, 03:30 EDT

A hangar door opened on the side of the Reach ship next to the United Nations building. Black Beetle landed on the metal floor of the hangar bay, his jet pack powering down as he did so. He made a b-line for the bridge, making sure to make known his frustration to all in his path, either with growls for fellow Reach members to move or by simply shoulder checking them as he walked. As he approached the bridge, the doors slide open for him and he saw the lead scientist having a serious discussion with the ambassador.

“I wanted to do more research as to how Blue Beetle was off-mode, but our security was insufficient to handle even the small meta-incursion we did,” the scientist rebuked at the ambassador.

“Remember to whom you are speaking,” the ambassador said sternly, maintaining a glare with the scientist. The ambassador saw Black Beetle approaching and turned to face him. “What happened out there?! I expected to have two Beetles in my presence and instead I have one and another is now completely off-mode again. Explain yourself!”

“Blue Beetle was with the meta-human speedster Impulse and two unknown metas,” Black Beetle growled. “One of them was a whelp meat who could manipulate shadows, the other was an adult meat whose physical strength was superior to my own, my Beetle was unprepared for such an encounter.”

“We saw the basics of the encounter, but why was it a failure?” The ambassador asked.

“From what I could read,” the scientist chimed in, “the new metas were not actually metas.” This comment caused both men to look at her. “The whelp meat gave off energy readings similar to Zatana or Dr. Fate, so I surmise that he was a magic-user. The female meat had no bio-rhythms, no body temperature, and gave off a similar energy signal to the whelp, but much more focused internally. I have no idea what type of meta she is, but it seems to be magical in nature.”

“Your point?” The ambassador ask.

“Reach tech is one of the highest forms of technology the universe has to offer, but there are forces out there that even it struggles against, such as new god life-tech, lantern rings, and magic. This threat simply had the upper hand this time,” the scientist explained. “Now that your scarab has encountered them once, it will make the necessary adjustments to properly face them next time.”

Black Beetle simply growled at finding an enemy he could not best in his first encounter.

“Then I guess we go with our next plan,” the ambassador said while bringing his hand up to stroke his chin. He pulled out his device to control the Beetles and hit a large green button. A large screen behind him lit up and showed a barren wasteland of red dirt that suddenly took off the ground and flew into space. It pointed itself at a small blue dot in the black void and took off towards it. “If we can’t get Blue’s Beetle to reset by force, then we will do so with subterfuge.”

The three of them smirked at the screen as the small blue dot slowly grew larger and revealed itself to be the planet Earth.

Black Rock Hot Springs

March 31, 02:08 MDT

“Ok,” Gavin said reaching for the silver tray. “I guess it is time for desert.” He opened the silver tray, breaking the gold seal. Underneath was a small square cake, made into a perfect square and symmetrical. Instead of icing though, the cake was covered in a golden foil, which gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

“What is that?” Bart asked excitedly.

“The Sultan’s Golden Cake,” Bria explained. “A $1,000.00 cake made in Istanbul. Now it does have alcohol in it,” she said looking around at all the boys, “but I won’t tell your parents as long as you drink a full glass of water once you’ve finished.”

“I know this no longer exists in the future!” Bart exclaimed. He grabbed one of the small plates and forks and waited, not so patiently, for Gavin to finishing cutting his own slice. Jaime waited until they both got some before standing up and cutting a slice for himself.

“Lo siento,” he apologized to Bria. His mother taught him that you should always serve yourself last and make sure everyone else has some first. “Would you like me to get you a piece Señora Bria?”

Gavin chuckled at Jaime’s formality, nearly choking on a bite of his cake.

“I can get my own,” Bria said. She stood up and made her way to get a piece of cake. “At least some people here were raised with manners.” She glared over at Gavin, who kept chuckling to himself. “There’s no need to use any honorifics with me ‘Blue,’ Bria is just fine. I’m done showing people any respect unless they actually earn it.”

Jaime uncomfortably walked past Bria and took his seat again. He had never met any person quite like Bria, at least not one who wasn’t a teenager.

The group sat there in silence and ate their cake, Jaime could tell it was a boozy cake, but he seemed to be the only one bothered by it. He assumed that alcohol didn’t work with vampires the same way as it did with people, Bart’s metabolism was probably too fast for this alcohol to do much, and Gavin seemed to have more of a tolerance for alcohol based on his upbringing.

 _Warning Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab seemed to scream in his head, even though he knew it was at a normal volume. _An ingredient in this food item is poisonous. The Bria Reynolds is attempting to eliminate us_.

“Scarab, the food isn’t poison,” Jaime said to the scarab, not even attempting to hide who he was talking to.

“Technically alcohol is poison,” Gavin chimed in. “A human body can’t store it as an energy source, so your liver works to remove it from your system.”

 _The Gavin Cethin speaks the truth,_ the Scarab confirmed.

“Tell that killer scarab of yours to shut up and enjoy the meal,” Bria said. “This cake is amazing and the alcohol will pass through your system in time. That’s why I said to drink water when you’re done.”

 _Scans indicate that your liver is working 20% harder than it normally does,_ the Scarab rattled off. _From our calculations water will help flush your system faster to remove the toxin. But remain alert Jaime Reyes; this poison will diminish your response time and vision._

“Will do,” Jaime said curtly. They all finished their cake and the boys all drank a glass of water.

“Well Gavin, I think it’s time to go back to the manor,” Bria said, wiping her mouth off with her cloth napkin. “I’d like to return my dining set to their rightful place.”

“Very well,” Gavin said. “I’m sure Hodgkins would like it returned as well.”

“It was very nice meeting you Jaime and Bart,” Bria said, extending her right hand to shake there’s while she stood up. “I always appreciate violence, even if Black there couldn’t take it.” She smirked at her own dissing of Black Beetle.

Jaime and Bart took their turns shaking Bria’s hand, noticing her firm grip as a sort of show of dominance.

“Causa congreganda,” Gavin spoke, his eyes turning black and two small calling cards appeared in his hand. He handed each of them a card. “Just hold this card and say my name, I’ll know that you need help.”

Bart took the card and looked it over with amazement. Jaime glanced down and noticed it literally just had the name “Gavin Cethin” written on it, no other information.

 _This card is giving off a small, unknown energy signal,_ the Scarab said.

“Just use that card if you want to get me involved in something,” Bria explained. “Gavin will get the message and make sure it has violence.”

“Now please step back,” Gavin said. He waited until Jaime and Bart each left the table and back towards the hot spring. “Bria in domo revertetur ad nos, et supellectilem.” Gavin’s eyes again turned black, the shadows from underneath the table and chairs writhed and stretched, encompassing the entire area beneath it and the two people. The two of them and the items began to sink into the shadows on the ground.

“Now you two lovebirds have fun with that hot spring,” Bria teased just before she passed completely into the shadows, which dissipated after they had completely gone.

Jaime felt his face get hot as he blushed at the comment.

“What’s a lovebird?” Bart asked as he turned to face Jaime. “Why are you turning red?” He asked with concern, as he never felt many emotions in the future, needing to survive and come back sort of stunted his emotional growth.

“Bria seems to think that we are a couple,” Jaime choked out.

“You mean, like romantically?” Bart asked.

“Yeah, like romantically,” Jaime responded. “Then again, she was pretty sarcastic the whole time, so it could mean nothing.” Jaime glanced back at the hot spring, even though he wasn’t in pain anymore. “Want to get back in?”

“Sure!” Bart practically shouted. He moved over quickly to get back into his spot in the spring.

Jaime worked his way over, this time sitting in a shallower spot in the spring, as he didn’t need to be completely submersed anymore. He climbed in, the water feeling much hotter than before due to them cooling down.

“So Bart,” Jaime started, “Can you explain to me why you came back again?”

“Sure thing Blue,” Bart said, gaining a more serious tone. “My first mission was to save the Flash from Neutron, I thought that maybe saving him would help stop the Reach invasion, but as it turned out, he wasn’t the catalyst. My next mission, and my most important one, was to keep you from being put back on-mode. Now I don’t know if getting you out of the Reach ship yesterday was the event to prevent or not, but I think it was certainly a good start. So I plan on sticking close to you until the Reach leaves Earth.”

Jaime took a moment to take it all in. “How did you know it was me in the future?”

“The Reach exposes your secret identity, so everyone knows it’s you,” Bart continued to explain. “Not that anyone has seen your face in a while. Once you were outed as a human with Reach tech, they really didn’t need your face to be public again.”

“So you’ve never met future me outside of being a slave to the Reach or seen my face before coming back in time?” Jaime asked.

“Crash, right?” Bart said. “I would have never guessed you were a cool guy or as good looking with all that blue and black metal on your face.” Bart realized what he said right after he said it and began to blush deeply, turning shades of deep red. “I mean…what I meant to say was, I only knew you were human, not that I knew exactly what you looked like. Again with the armor, I would have never guessed you were as athletically built as you are…I mean, oh man, my mouth is feeling the mode right now.”

“Bart, it’s alright,” Jaime said. Jaime had a lot to process right now, between magic, vampires, and a potential crush from the future, all with some alcohol in his system. “We can figure things out as time goes on. You can stay focused on your mission and I’ll stay focused on staying out of the Reach’s hands. Again, Bria probably is doing this for her own amusement.”

“Right,” Bart mused and leaned back against the rocks of the spring.

“Besides hermano,” Jaime started, “if all else fails, I’m just happy you came back in time to become my friend.” Jaime smiled with a slight blush as he leaned back against the rocks of the spring.

Bart blushed as well and both boys simply took time to relax in the hot spring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Latin Translations:  
> Ne nos inducas in domum cibi de Bria- Bring us food from Bria’s house.  
> Causa congreganda- Summoning token  
> Bria in domo revertetur ad nos, et supellectilem- Return us and the furniture to Bria’s house
> 
> Spanish Translations:  
> Lo siento- I’m sorry


	5. Trouble Brewing

Black Rock Hot Springs

March 31, 05:30 MDT

Jaime and Bart were sitting in the hot spring, thankfully the awkwardness of their conversation had subsided, and they were now discussing their school life.

“So what classes did you miss during your captivity?” Jaime asked.

“Not much to be honest,” Bart explained. “Since I just started school, I’m more playing catch up anyway. The one that baffles me the most is social studies. I never thought that being from the future would give me so little insight on the past?” He threw out his arms in an over-exaggerated confused expression, causing the water in the hot spring to splash around.

“Hermano,” Jaime chuckled, “you did say that most human history is lost in the future, it makes sense that you wouldn’t know it.” Jaime’s phone buzzed near the edge of the hot spring. He picked it up and opened the message.

“Hijo, ¿vienes a casa a cenar?” Jaime’s mother had text him.

Jaime looked up at Bart, “mi madre wants to know if I’m going home for supper or what.”

“I hadn’t really thought that far ahead,” Bart mused scratching his head. “It would be crash if we could keep chill-hanging, right?” He had an air of innocence about him when Bart asked. Jaime could get the feeling that Bart didn’t have a lot of time to “chill-hang” in the future, let alone a lot of friends to spend time with.

“Probablemente va a salir a comer con mi amigo,” Jaime texted back to his mother.

“Eso está bien, solo recuerda tu toque de queda.” Jaime’s mom responded.

“Lo hare, nos vemos esta noche.” Jaime sent back. “I’m good to eat with you tonight, just got the ok from my mom.” Jaime said looking up at Bart and sitting his phone back down.

Bart’s face lit up with a wide smile, “that’s totally crash! I just have to call Mr. and Mrs. Garrick.” He got out of the hot spring and retrieved his phone from his backpack.

Jaime couldn’t help but hear the animated conversation.

“Hey Mrs. G, it’s Bart,” he started excitedly. “I was wondering what the plans were for tonight?...Jaime said that he is available to eat with me tonight…I’m not sure, let me ask.” Bart turned to face Jaime. “Did you want to eat with us at the Garrick’s tonight or somewhere else?”

“I didn’t mean to invite myself to their house,” Jaime said in a bit of a startle. “I meant eating at a restaurant or something.” Jaime blushed in embarrassment.

“Yeah, he meant at a restaurant,” Bart continued on the phone. “No, I didn’t bring any money…Sorry, I didn’t plan this far ahead…Need me to run back and grab some?”

“Hermano,” Jaime cut into the conversation. “I can cover the meal this time, you’ll just owe me a meal later.”

“Jaime said he’s got this time covered,” Bart said to Mrs. Garrick.

“Bart!” Jaime shouted at Bart.

“I mean Blue’s got it covered this time!” Bart corrected. “Who’s Jaime? Never met a Jaime in my life!” Jaime face-palmed at Bart’s complete inability to remember who knew whose secret identities. “I’ll be home by 9, you got it…See you later tonight, thanks!” Bart blushed as he finished his conversation. “Sorry Jaime,” he said after he hung up the phone.

“It’s no problem, ese,” Jaime said. “I guess if anyone can keep a secret, it’s another super family.” Jaime thought for a minute while relaxing in the hot spring. “I don’t suppose that there’s a shower nearby to rinse off in before supper?”

“There should be showers in the Taos branch of STAR Labs,” Bart said. “Neutron lives there, so there has to be showers and living quarters. They should be closed up for the most part today anyway.”

“Ok,” Jaime said standing up in the hot spring. “Then we head back to STAR Labs, get cleaned up, and head to a restaurant.”

Both the boys dried off and grabbed their respective backpack/drawstring bag. Jaime suited up in his Blue Beetle armor and extended the wings to fly. Both of them took off towards STAR Labs.

Taos

March 31, 05:45 MDT

Both of them arrived at STAR Labs, Jaime landing just outside the door and Bart skidding to a stop right next to him.

“Let me check to see if anyone is inside,” Jaime said and raised his right arm, with some mechanical whirring, his hand transformed into his Reach scanner. He made a sweeping motion from left to right over the outside of the building. “5 people inside, 3 clustered together, I’m assuming security, and 2 are alone, one probably your friend Neutron, the other a janitor maybe?”

“Sounds good to me!” Bart said and opened the front door.

“Um, hermano,” Jaime said while putting a hand on Bart’s shoulder to stop him, “might want to cover up your face before their cameras see you.”

“Oh right,” Bart said and put his towel over his head like a hood. “Think this is good enough?”

Jaime chuckled at Bart, making the speedster blush slightly, “it should work just fine, just don’t look at a camera.”

Bart then stepped into the building and Jaime followed behind. No one bothered to check on the new visitors, which Jaime thought was strange for after hours, but then he remembered that Bart said the Flash cleared it with STAR Labs for them to be there today. They made their way to the locker room, which Bart knew how to get there from directions from the Flash, but they encountered a badge scanner lock on the door.

“Oh,” Bart groaned, “we’re totally moded now.”

“I got this ese,” Jaime said and stepped past Bart. He held up his right hand and his suit emitted a light blue light that scanned the locking mechanism. The door let out a beeping sound and the boys could both hear the door’s lock click open.

“Nice!” Bart exclaimed. Jaime opened the door and saw your typical locker room. Black metal locker doors lined one wall, the other side having a few benches, a coat rack, and a trash can. The far wall had another door leading to the showers. The boys stepped into the locker room and closed the door behind them.

“I don’t suppose that there is any soap or shampoo here?” Jaime asked as his armor retracted into the scarab now that they were away from the cameras. Jaime could feel the cool air conditioned air roll over his exposed upper body since he was still in his swim trunks.

 _Scans indicate cleaning supplies in at least 2 of the lockers,_ the Scarab said.

“I’m not stealing someone’s soap and shampoo,” Jaime retorted.

“Where I’m from, it’s scavenger’s rights,” Bart said. “Which lockers?”

Jaime pointed out the two lockers that contained the soap and shampoo. With this room having a lock on the outer door, it seems only a couple people had locks on their lockers, and thankfully not these two people. Bart opened both of the lockers and looked inside them.

“Well this one has bar soap and old man shampoo,” Bart said pulling out a bottle of scalp revitalizing shampoo.

“Going to pass on that, thanks,” Jaime said, his face contorting into one of dissatisfaction.

“This one has body wash and shampoo,” Bart said pulling the black bottles closer to his face. “Some brand named ‘Axe,’ is this good?”

Jaime smirked, “Axe is good, still not too sure on using someone else’s stuff, but I guess we need it now and can always repay them later.” Bart carried both the bottles to the far door, Jaime following close behind. Bart opened the door there was a smaller anteroom that had shelves of clean towels to the left and a laundry basket on the right for dirty towels. Just beyond this room was the large shower room, built like any shower room for groups of people, three of the walls had shower heads with two nozzles underneath them for the hot and cold water control. Jaime saw that this room had its own separate lock on the door and made sure to lock it, just in case a security guard came into the locker room.

“Well,” Bart started, “since we have to share the soap and shampoo, guess we have to shower next to each other so we can both reach them.” Bart said things so matter of fact, never blushing, no side eyes, just bringing his hand to his chin in a thoughtful motion. Jaime would normally have no problem with this, his high school had group showers, the cave had group showers, even most public swimming pools had group showers, but now he was uncertain of his feelings toward Bart, all because of what Bria had said. He just had to move forward like she never said anything and treat this like any other shower room.

“Sounds good,” Jaime choked out, his cheeks tinged pink. Thankfully, he didn’t think Bart noticed his hesitation to speak.

Bart stripped off his swim trunks and moved into the shower room, Jaime made sure to avert his gaze by focusing on removing his own swimming trunks. Bart adjusted the water to his liking, thick clouds of steam rolling off of the water. Thankfully that steam helped Jaime stay focused and make his way to the nozzles right next to Bart. Jaime adjusted the water to his own liking, with steam also rolling off of the water. Both boys let the hot water roll over them and both got their hair wet before putting any shampoo in it. This delay however, caused them both to reach for the shampoo at the same time.

“Sorry,” both boys said at the same time.

“Go ahead,” Jaime said, his brown eyes meeting Bart’s green eyes only inches away.

“Thanks!” Bart said excitedly. Jaime flinched his hand back as Bart grabbed the bottle; he truly believed that Bart had no idea what it was like to be allowed to go first in anything. He also truly believed that what Bria said had moved out of Bart’s mind, as he said before, “my mind moves a mile a minute,” unfortunately for Jaime, his mind moved like a normal person’s and Bria’s words “you two lovebirds” rattled across his mind. This was truly the first time Jaime looked at Bart in an inquisitive way. Bart’s brown hair wet and matted to his scalp in the shower, his green eyes full of wonder at this time period, his thin body starting to show signs of muscle growth, which Jaime chalked up to both puberty and the fact Mrs. Garrick was feeding him much better than he had eaten in the future, Jaime’s eyes started drifting across Bart’s body, learning what he could from this time of full exposure.

“Here you go!” Bart said, snapping Jaime out of his mesmerized staring at Bart, just as Jaime was working his eyes down Bart’s torso.

“Gracias!” Jaime blurted out, his face becoming a deep red. He reached out his hand and took the shampoo, which he could now smell after the bottle had been opened and put in Bart’s hair as he scrubbed it in, a fragrant smell like incense. Bart went back to his shower, never registering that Jaime was even embarrassed, Jaime turned his head towards the wall in front of him and put the fragrant shampoo onto his hand, put the bottle back on the floor, and then scrubbed it into his hair. He kept his eyes forward the majority of the time, only glancing over occasionally to make sure Bart finished his hair first so they didn’t have another incident reaching for the body wash at the same time.

In what felt like a lifetime of embarrassment and a sea of confused feelings, the shower ended. Both boys made their way to the towels, Jaime keeping his eyes glued to the floor the whole time. Both boys dried off and put their original outfits back on, Jaime’s black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, Bart’s white t-shirt with a red stripe across the chest, dark blue jeans, and brown hiking boots.

“I really liked the smell of this stuff,” Bart said carrying the bottles of shampoo and body wash back to the locker. “Axe brand, Apollo scent, what’s Apollo?” Bart asked as he sat the bottles back into the locker. He noticed that Jaime was very quiet and not looking at him. “Is everything alright Jaime?” His voice changing from his usual chipper to a more somber tone.

“Huh?” Jaime finally pulled out of his thoughts and looked up at the concerned Bart. “Yeah, I’m fine, just hungrier than I realized.” He put on a fake smile and patted his stomach.

“You know us speedsters,” Bart said in his usual chipper tone. “Need to keep ourselves fueled, so I know the feeling. But what is Apollo?”

“He’s not really a what, but a who,” Jaime explained. “He’s a god from Greek mythology, I believe the god of the sun, music, archery, and healing, but I honestly don’t know for sure since the Greeks gave so many gods the same stuff to be in charge of.”

“Well remind me to ask the Garrick’s to get that one for me,” Bart said while slinging his backpack over his left shoulder.

“Will do ese,” Jaime said pulling his drawstring bag over his left shoulder as well.

The boys left the facility, Jaime in his armor to hide his identity, Bart with his backpack in front of his face. Jaime had to grab onto his arm to lead him through the building. Once they reached an alley nearby, Jaime retracted the armor and Bart put his backpack back onto his left shoulder.

“You really can be a pain to travel with,” Jaime groaned at Bart.

“Sorry,” Bart apologized and blushed. “I’ll eventually learn this whole secret identity thing and carry a mask with me.”

Jaime noticed that Bart seemed to only blush when scolded maybe that was the only time his guard was truly down, since he didn’t know how to respond.

“Well, seeing as I am paying for our meals off an allowance, we’ll be getting fast food,” Jaime explained pulling out his wallet to reveal a couple five dollar bills and a few singles.

“Sounds good to me,” Bart said stepping out of the alley and looking up and down the street they were on in Taos. “I see a place called McDonalds; I think Mr. G called that place fast food before.”

“It is fast food,” Jaime said. “It will have to do this time.” Both boys made their way into the restaurant. Jaime ordered their food, making sure to order and extra two one dollar cheeseburgers for Bart and they made their way to an open booth seat. For being just after 6:30pm on a Thursday night, the place was practically empty, just the two of them, the employees, and a small family in the play place.

Bart ate his food at a slower pace than usual, being in public and all, but still quicker than Jaime. Good thing Jaime got him the extra two cheeseburgers, because they now ended up finishing around the same time.

“Got any other plans tonight?” Bart asked.

“Not really,” Jaime answered. “Just a few more assignments for school that I missed.”

“Same here,” Bart said. “That is one thing from the future that I miss, no school.”

“Wait,” Jaime said a bit startled. “I know you said that a lot of history was lost because of the Reach invasion, but you never said there was no school.” Jaime raised an eyebrow at Bart.

“The Reach is only interested in weaponizing the human metagene,” Bart explained. “Humans are kept alive to work for the Reach for building ships and stuff, and that’s the people who don’t have the metagene, those that do have it are kept separate and basically bred like people here breed dogs and such.” Bart shuddered thinking about the future he had come from, his face losing all color. He leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting them on the table.

“Sorry hermano,” Jaime said putting a hand on Bart’s arm. “I shouldn’t have brought back those memories, but hey, at least you have to chance to turn that all around.” Jaime gave a warm smile as Bart looked up at him.

Bart smiled back at Jaime, “yeah and I have to make sure the Reach doesn’t get their hands on you again.” Bart’s smile faded again as he thought of the immense pressure of the responsibility of keeping the world safe from the Reach. His eyes drifted back towards the table and the empty food tray.

“Hey!” Jaime said as he could feel Bart begin to shake uneasily. This caused Bart to look back up at him and they locked eyes. “You’ve already saved me once, you saved the Flash once, you even defied the Reach by coming back in time, you’ll do fine.” Jaime squeezed Bart’s arm in reassurance.

“But all those times I had help,” Bart rattled off. “I would have failed without Flash, Mr. G, Kid Flash, the team, and Neutron.”

“That’s what being a hero is, ese,” Jaime said firmly. “You might have this amazing ability that no one else can do, but you’ll always have friends and family to back you up when needed.”

“But’s it’s my job to fix things,” Bart started again.

“We’ll help as much as we can,” Jaime cut him off.

“But…” Bart let out.

“No more buts,” Jaime said firmly. “I will help you, the team will help you, and the Justice League will help you. No one wants the Reach to win. You are also not alone, ask any of us for help and we’ll help. Like I just said, you’ll do fine.” Jaime maintained eye contact with Bart to make sure the message really sank in. After a minute or two, Bart regained his color and let out a soft chuckle.

“Thanks Jaime,” Bart whispered. He put his hand on top of Jaime’s hand and gave a squeeze of reassurance. He then moved his hand up to wipe the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Tell you what,” Jaime said. “Feel free to text me every day, just to make sure I am still me and not captured by the Reach. If I’m free, we can even talk on the phone.”

“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep,” Bart chuckled as he finished wiping his eyes.

“I’m serious,” Jaime said with sincerity. “Make sure I’m still me every day, you can even call just to talk.” Jaime kept looking at Bart and when Bart finally remade eye contact he nodded.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Bart said.

“No doubt you will,” Jaime chuckled.

Their serious conversation was interrupted by a large bang outside the restaurant. They both looked outside and saw a sleek black metal suit standing just outside the windows. The person within the suit must have still been getting use to the suit, as they extended their arms and moved their wrists and fingers around in front of them. The person then walked away from the restaurant towards the direction of STAR Labs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations:  
> Hijo, ¿vienes a casa a cenar?- Son, are you coming home for supper?  
> Probablemente va a salir a comer con mi amigo- Probably going to eat out with my friend.  
> Eso está bien, solo recuerda tu toque de queda- That’s fine, just remember your curfew.  
> Lo hare, nos vemos esta noche- Will do, see you tonight.


	6. Uncertain Victory

Taos

March 31, 07:02 MDT

Both Jaime and Bart heard a loud bang and saw a sleek black metal suit standing just outside the windows of the McDonalds they were in. The unknown person in the suit seemed to either be admiring themselves or learning the suit, as the boys watched them extend and flex their arms, rotate their wrists, and move their fingers around. The person in the suit began walking towards STAR Labs.

“Now would be a good time to get your suit,” Jaime impatiently whispered to Bart, leaning across the table to do so.

“Oh, right,” Bart answered. “Be right back!” With that he ran out the side entrance of the McDonalds and appeared to be running home in a panic, as if he were just another civilian, but once he cleared out of view, he took off with his burst of super speed towards Central City.

Jaime also ran out the side entrance of the McDonalds and ran for an alley, placing both his and Bart’s backpack behind a dumpster. It was totally like Bart to forget that he even brought a backpack with him. Once he made sure no one was looking, he suited up in his Blue Beetle armor. He extended his wings and pushed off the ground hard and fast, taking to flight straight up. He then turned towards STAR Labs, keeping an eye on the person in the black suit.

 _The suit is giving off energy consistent with Apokoliptan technology,_ the Scarab said to Jaime. _The reading on the person inside does not compute, chances are the suit is masking against scanning._

“Great…” Jaime groaned. “More Apokoliptan tech, hopefully this ends better than last time, I don’t want to get stomped by an Apple-laxative again.”

 _It was an Appellaxian Golem,_ the Scarab corrected.

“Whatever,” Jaime snapped. He flew ahead of the figure, placing himself between them and STAR Labs, lowering himself to hover about 10 feet off the ground. “Stop!” he shouted at the person. “I don’t know what you’re after, but I’m not letting you attack this place.”

“Why if it isn’t Blue Beetle again,” a female voice came out from the suit. “I believe we have a score to settle for what you did to me.”

“Do I even know you lady?” Jaime asked, tilting his head to the side to try and see any details about her or the suit she was wearing.

“I can’t believe you’d forget me so easily!” she shouted. She raised her right hand, aimed her palm at Jaime and fired a red plasma blast at him. Since Jaime was too focused on trying to figure her out, he raised his arms up to shield himself instead of moving out of the way. The blast hit him square in the forearms, which is somewhat lucky for him as he was using them to shield his face.

Jaime groaned at the impact of the blast. He was pushed back through the air about 10 feet before the Scarab corrected his flight and stabilized him. “That really didn’t clear up who you are amiga,” he taunted.

“Maybe you should try stapling me to a tree, that might clear things up for you!” she shouted, aiming her palm at him again and firing another red plasma blast. This time Jaime was ready for it and flew to the right, dodging the blast.

“Oh,” Jaime said in realization. “You’re that red headed chica with intergang, Whisper something.” Jaime dodged blast after blast, seeing as she was new to her suit, her aim was not top notch. “You’re going to have to up your game if you want to hit me again.” Jaime chuckled at his own insults to Whisper.

“The name’s Whisper A’Daire,” Whisper seethed. “I guess it’s time to see what this bad boy can do.” Her suit, which was all black until this point, began to glow deep red color in between the plating, primarily around the joints and across the face plate. A deep chiming noise could be heard as these lights turned on.

 _Warning Jaime Reyes!_ The Scarab chimed in all of a sudden. _Father Box sentience is now emanating from the suit_.

Whisper aimed her palm again at Jaime, in anticipation of the incoming shot; Jaime began dodging to the left. Whisper’s suit seemed to have anticipated this and adjusted accordingly, firing a much more powerful blast than before. The beam of red light hit Jaime in the side of the torso, near the ribs, and hit him with enough force to knock him out of the sky. With a loud bang, Jaime hit the ground, and then with the sound of metal scrapping across pavement, skidded to a stop a few feet back. He managed to get off the ground fairly quickly and positioned himself to face Whisper in a more cautious stance.

“No witty comeback that time hero?” Whisper taunted. “Seems like my suit has more nasty surprises waiting for you.” She raised her arm again, but instead of aiming a palm at him, she aimed her fist at him. With some mechanical whirring, a small missile rose from her forearm and aimed at Jaime.

Jaime prepared himself to dodge this incoming missile, keeping himself light on his feet despite the pain he felt emanating from his ribs. That plasma blast hurt, thankfully his armor took the brunt of it, but who knows how much more powerful it could get.

Whisper fired the missile from her suit and it flew at Jaime with amazing speed, leaving a small smoke trail behind it. With his jet pack ready and his cautious stance, Jaime leapt up and flew out of the way of the missile.

“Yes!” he let out in excitement. He saw the missile was still flying toward STAR Labs, which was behind him when he was standing on the ground. “No!” He raised his left hand and his suit formed his plasma cannon. He fired his light blue blast at the missile, hitting his mark, which exploded with a loud BOOM! Thankfully it was still a safe distance from the lab and no one was nearby.

 _Incoming missile!_ The Scarab shouted to Jaime before he could process what to do next.

The next thing Jaime knew, he heard another loud BOOM! This one was much louder than the first one, seeing as he was at its center. The missile impacted in the center of Jaime’s back. Pain cascaded across his body, leaving an all too familiar taste of iron in his mouth. That missile definitely caused some damage, as well as sent him flying higher into the air and away from Whisper, causing him to flip in a few circles through the air.

 _Plasma Beam Incoming!_ The Scarab shouted again.

Jaime was hit with a plasma beam again, this time hitting him square in the chest, now that the previous blast had left him facing Whisper. With no way to make the blow simply glance off of him, he could feel the force of the hit crack a rib or two and continued to push him higher into the air and farther away from Whisper. The multiple attacks in rapid succession left him feeling a bit dazed.

“Hey! Quit picking on Blue!” Bart shouted as he ran head long toward Whisper. He had now changed into his Impulse outfit, a light tan spandex-like jumpsuit with a red stripe going from neck to crotch, with matching red gloves and boots, his visor keeping his eyes and ears free from debris. He took a tackling stance, attempting to use his speed to knock her over. He collided into her back, causing her to stumble forward and take a knee, but also pushing him back from her as well. He couldn’t have guessed the suit added that much weight and given her that much strength.

“Wow!” Bart grunted as he managed to keep his footing from bouncing off of Whisper. “Who are you supposed to be?”

“Since you weren’t here when your fellow hero figured it out,” Whisper started, “I’ll let him fill you in, provided either of you survive this.” Whisper stood up and raised her palm and fired a red plasma blast at Bart. Being a speedster, he dodged it with ease, not even appearing to really move as he simply blurred and appeared two feet to the right of where he originally was.

“Gonna have to be faster than that to have me feeling the mode,” Bart said and ran towards her. Instead of hitting her head on, he ran in circles around her, keeping her guessing as to where he was, he was able to either duck under her red plasma blasts or hop over them.

Whisper’s suit let out a deep chiming noise again, causing all her joints and faceplate to glow a deep red color.

“Got you now!” Whisper shouted. She leaned forward, in a runner’s stance, her right foot slightly in front of her left foot. Suddenly the sound of jet engine rockets erupted from her. Flames burst from the bottoms of her feet and her back. She rocketed forward, meeting Bart in his circle around her in a similar stance that he tried. Bart didn’t have the same weight and strength that she did, and when her tackle collided, he was sent flying backward, right towards STAR Labs.

Jaime’s brain refocused just in time to see Whisper rocket tackle right into Bart, sending him hurtling toward STAR Labs head over heels. He willed Scarab to activate his own jetpack and propel towards Bart. Jaime made it down just in time to catch Bart with his left arm under Bart’s knees and his right arm under Bart’s back. His jetpack revved up to counteract the force of the hit and preventing them from colliding with the windows in the front of STAR Labs.

“Nice catch Blue!” Bart said while still in Jaime’s arms.

“No problemo,” Jaime managed to get out. His rips were still hurting and having just caught a person against them moving at high speeds didn’t help matters. He landed on the ground and let Bart stand up on his own.

“So, the big metal meanie said you knew her?” Bart asked.

“It’s Whisper A’Daire of intergang,” Jaime explained. “Me and Superboy helped get her locked up a while ago, I guess it didn’t stick. Anyway, she’s using Apokoliptan technology, so anything a Father Box can do; she can probably do it too.”

“Not quite hero,” Whisper corrected as she walked toward them. “It is Apokoliptan tech, but it’s not a Father Box, just a similar artificial intelligence.” She raised her hand to aim a palm at them again. “I’m simply testing it out for a friend of mine.”

Jaime sprang into action, running towards Whisper. His right arm shifting form into his scarab sword. He raised his sword arm and got ready to bring it down upon Whisper.

Whisper’s suit let out another deep chiming noise, again causing the joints and faceplate to glow a deep red color. From Whisper’s outstretched right arm and blade made of focused red plasma formed from the side of her forearm. The blade has a slight curve to it, similar to that of a scimitar, but she managed to raise it up to intercept Jaime’s sword, its focused energy form capable of stopping something made of pure metal. The two blades locked with each other, each combatant staring menacingly at the other.

 _Allow me control,_ the Scarab asked Jaime.

“Not gonna happen,” Jaime groaned out while still pushing his sword into Whisper’s. He could feel the strain on his injured body as every muscle tensed to keep himself from being pushed back.

 _My programming can keep up with the Apokoliptan programming,_ the Scarab explained. _It is your best chance of success_.

“Fine!” Jaime grunted out. His eyes on his own faceplate began to glow yellow and his armor produced another sword from his left arm. The Scarab raised his left arm to swing a downward blow on Whisper, but she broke the blade lock between them, using her jet boots to push herself backwards a few feet.

“Finally!” Whisper shouted. “Some real action!” Her suit let out another deep chiming noise, again producing the deep red lights around the joints and across the faceplate. Her left forearm produced another plasma sword, to match Jaime’s blades.

Both the Scarab and Whisper lunged at each other, swinging and blocking with detailed precision, moves so swift, Bart knew only a computer could process them. All he could do right now was watch as the two power suited combatants attacked each other. It felt like watching Blue Beetle fight Black Beetle on the Reach ship, they were pretty evenly matched. Bart began to formulate a plan of attack while watching the battle.

The Scarab swung his left sword and Whisper deflected with her right sword.

 _Maybe I could tackle her while she’s occupied,_ Bart thought to himself.

Whisper made a lunge with her right sword at Jaime’s chest, but the Scarab parried the incoming attack with his left sword.

 _That won’t work, the suit gives her too much strength,_ Bart refuted himself.

Whisper attacked with remise, spinning her right sword free of Jaime’s parry and stabbing toward him again. The Scarab again parried with his right sword and heaved forward, pushing Whisper back a step.

 _Maybe I should call for some help,_ Bart worried to himself.

Whisper took the slight separation as an opportunity, jumping up slightly and coming down with her right sword in a downward slashing motion. The Scarab raised both arms up and crossed the blades, to absorb the blow. Her sword crashed down on his blades, but she didn’t relent and raised her right arm again to strike repeatedly.

 _Gotta get her out of the armor and feeling the mode,_ Bart mused while watching his best friend defend against the blows.

The Scarab was currently locked in his defensive position, arm blades crossed and simply absorbing blow after blow as Whisper swung down with all her might. Jaime could feel the strain on his body, his muscles ached and his ribs felt like they were jabbing into his sternum.

“Ahh!” Jaime cried out in pain, causing the Scarab to lose control of him. He fell to a knee, but still kept his arms raised to defend himself.

 _Gotta help now!_ Bart decided and ran forward at lightning speed. He ran right behind Whisper and grabbed onto a rocket thruster. He vibrated his hand as fast as he could, after a moment, the rocket thruster began to crack and crunched under the intense pressure.

“Get off me!” Whisper screamed and spun around, swinging her left sword at Bart. He ran out of the way with ease, apparently her suit could only process so much as a time.

Bart ran back as her swing ended and grabbed her left forearm in his right hand and her left hand in his left hand. He again vibrated his hands as fast as he could, again with the cracking and crunching of metal, her suit’s integrity failed. Her red plasma sword dissipated back into the suit.

“You little bastard!” Whisper shouted. Bart had made a smart move in disabling her hand, but the fatal error of grabbing her hand. Her suit still worked to grab. She squeezed down on his left hand, holding him still. Her suit let out another deep chime and glowed deep red. Bart could feel Whisper squeezing harder onto his hand, he tried to free himself, but she was too strong.

“Ahh!” Bart screamed. With a sickening crack, he could feel several bones in his hand break under the immense pressure. Bart could feel the inside of his glove become wet, as his bones penetrated his skin and allowed the blood to be squeezed out.

“Let him go!” Jaime yelled and jumped to his feet with a new burst of adrenalin. He raised both arms up to slash down at Whisper.

Whisper raised her left foot and stomped down on Bart’s left shin, causing an audible snapping sound. Whisper let go of his hand while using her momentum to spin to face Jaime.

“Ahh!” Bart fell to his knees, his left leg bending at an unnatural angle, sticking straight out to his side, a nearly perfect perpendicular line with the ground. Bart could see that his super hero outfit had torn where his leg was stomped on. He could see his bones, now broken and jagged like the end of spines, piercing his skin and his uniform.

Whisper saw her opening with Jaime, both of his arms raised up meant an easy victory for her. She pulled her right arm back, keeping the blade perpendicular to the ground. With the speed and strength of her suit, she punched forward, her red plasma sword piercing through Jaime’s armor and straight into his ribs, through his chest, and out the back of his armor, stabbing through a portion of the scarab’s larger frame.

The moment seemed to have frozen in time, Bart on his knees behind Whisper, broken hand and leg, Whisper facing Jaime, red plasma sword through his torso, and Jaime looking down in disbelief that his armor couldn’t take the blow.

Jaime gasped as the air left his lungs through the new hole in his chest, not even enough air to let out a scream or cry. He could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes, the pain was unbelievable. It wasn’t like anything he had felt before, not sharp or edged like a normal weapon, but it felt like he was being cooked from the inside. He let his arms fall to his sides, his blades retracting back into the armor. He could feel his legs beginning to buckle; he had never been injured like this before.

“Blue! NO!” Bart screamed and mustered the last of his adrenalin to jump up on his good leg. He wrapped both arms around Whisper’s shoulders, still very painful as his broken left hand attempted to grip his right elbow under her chin. He placed his right hand onto Whisper’s faceplate. He vibrated his hand faster than he ever had before. This time, with a sound like cracking glass, Whisper’s faceplate shattered, revealing the pale skinned woman within.

“What?!” Whisper screamed as she pulled her sword out of Jaime, causing him to fall on his knees and grip at his open wound in his chest. She grabbed Bart and swung him over her, slamming him into the ground right next to Jaime.

“Sonic…” Bart choked out as all the air was knocked from his lungs as his back collided with the ground. “Cannon…” He looked up and met Jaime’s eyes, pleading with him to try that attack now that her armor couldn’t protect her brain from such an attack.

Jaime attempted a deep breath in, but could only manage a light gasp, as any more air was simply too painful to take in. He raised his right arm and willed the Scarab to make a sonic cannon. With its usual whirring sound, the armor complied and made the Reach cannon. Jaime aimed at Whisper’s head and fired the cannon. Blue rings of light shot out at point blank range towards Whisper, accompanied with the high pitched ringing sound of the sonic energy.

Whisper raised her hands, attempting to cover her ears, but her suit prevented her from physically doing so. The rings of blue energy enveloped her, causing her to scream in pain as she was knocked backward by the blast. She only fell back a few feet, but she collided firmly with the ground, landing on the flat of her back. A soft groan was all that could be heard from her as she lay motionless.

 _Scans indicate a fatal wound Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said in its normal emotionless tone. _Seek medical attention immediately_.

Jaime could barely breathe, let alone move or talk. He could see Bart’s injuries, bones protruding through both skin and superhero suit, and the speedster was also gasping for air as he had been slammed into the ground. He changed his hand back from the sonic cannon and reached down for his pocket. Thankfully the Scarab knew what he was going for and moved the armor to let him get to his jeans beneath. He pulled out a small business card, with only two words written on it, “Gavin Cethin.” He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The hole through his chest prevented him from pushing any air up and through his vocal chords. Panic began to settle in for Jaime.

 _This is how I’m going to die,_ Jaime thought to himself. He slumped forward, using his left hand to catch himself from falling face first onto the ground. He could see that the ground beneath him was changing from the soft grass in front of STAR Labs into a matted mess of sticky red blood.

 _Vital signs dropping Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab reminded him. _My systems are also damaged from that attack; I am unable to assist you._ The Scarab retracted all of Jaime’s armor back into itself. _This system is shutting down for mandatory rebooting_.

Bart looked over at Jaime and noticed that the blue armor was disappearing. He could see the panic settling in Jaime’s eyes as tears began to stream down his face. He heard Jaime’s raspy and labored breathing and pain crossed his face with each attempted breath.

“Blue,” Bart choked out as he worked to regain his breath. Each inhalation was way more work than it used to be.

Jaime’s eyes darted over to and locked onto Bart’s eyes when he heard him speak. He let out a gasp mixed with a groan and shakily handed him the small business card.

Bart took the card in his hand and saw “Gavin Cethin” written on the card. He also saw that Jaime had moved his hand back and was now using both his hands to try and stifle the blood gushing from his wound. Bart took as deep of a breath as possible, knowing that it was his mission to save Jaime and stop the Reach invasion.

“Gavin…” Bart let out in barely more than a whisper, holding the card firmly in his grip for dear life. “Cethin…” He let out the last name with his remaining breath. He immediately went back to labored gasping as his body attempted to recompose itself.

Jaime could hear the faint, distant sound of sirens heading their way. With no suit, he would be exposed. He was just so thankful that Bart managed to say Gavin’s name, now he just needed to show up. Jaime’s world began to spin, what use to be clear images to him blurred horribly. He felt cold and weak. He could no longer keep himself together. He fell to the ground completely, the darkness and injuries taking him into unconsciousness.

Bart could also hear the sirens as they approached; he looked over and saw Jaime collapse forward.

“No…” Bart whimpered out, he rolled from his back onto his stomach and grabbed the back of Jaime’s shirt with his broken left hand. He could also feel himself growing weaker, the adrenaline wearing off from there battle. At first he thought he was just passing out as well, but he noticed that the darkness was closing in too quickly and that the sound of the sirens wasn’t diminishing. Before his brain could process what was happening, he saw two shadowed silhouettes step out from a nearby alley and come running towards them. Unfortunately, Bart also passed out from fatigue and his injuries before he could make out who they were.


	7. Shadowed Recovery

Bria’s Manor, Chappaqua, New York

April 3, 08:17 EDT

Bart stirred in his unconscious state. No dreams swam through his slumbering mind, but it felt like his mind was in a thick fog. He blinked his eyes open, his vision blurry from waking up. He thought he must have hit his head pretty hard, because there was a strange black mist surrounding his sight. He attempted to blink more to clear his vision, but the black mist remained in his sight. His eyes shot open and he moved his hands up to wipe his eyes. That’s when he noticed a bandage on his left hand, a strange white ACE bandage with blood red symbols on it. That’s when he remembered the fight with Whisper and Jaime. He sat bolt up and looked around. The action of sitting up, even with his super speed, took longer than he ever thought was possible. As he sat up, the black mist disappeared, leaving no trace that it was even there. Beyond the mist, the first two things he noticed was the intense pain his hand and leg were in and that his sense of time was back to its usual pace. He glanced down at himself, he was wearing his red boxer briefs and nothing else, just the strange bandage on his left hand and a matching one, albeit much larger to encompass his leg, on his left leg, from just below the knee to the ankle.

Bart glanced around the room he was in, it was a well-kept bedroom, and he sat on a full-sized bed, above warm cotton covers, that were just a plain blue color. His bed was next to a window, which looked out onto a well-manicured lawn, a building looked like it was used to house horses off in the distance. It must have been the next day, as the sun shone brightly in the sky. The room had a brown trim along the walls, both next to the floor and up near the ceiling, with the walls being an off white color. There looked to be 3 doors in the room, he had no idea where they went or even where he was. There was a second bed in the room, in the same position as his bed, just along the opposing wall. He saw the same strange black mist hovering over that bed as well. As he looked more intently at the other bed and the mist, he noticed a person lying down in the mist, Jaime.

“Jaime!” Bart croaked out. Bart coughed, his throat felt like he hadn’t had anything to drink in a long time. Once he got his coughing under control, he swung his legs off over the edge of the bed. The second his left foot touched the floor, intense pain shot up his leg and he winced. Just then, he heard movement outside the door on the opposite wall of the window, near the foot of Jaime’s bed, he froze in his place, wondering what could be coming through. The door opened and a very tired Gavin stood in the frame. He was wearing a black pull-over hoodie, blue jeans, and white socks.

“I thought I felt my magic dissipate,” Gavin said with a strained voice.

“Gavin?” Bart croaked out. “What’s going on?”

Gavin leaned back out into the hallway and looked down past what Bart could see, “Sierra, could you get something to eat and drink for Bart? And a chair for me?” There was the sound of someone walking away, their footfalls becoming fainter as the seconds past. Gavin pushed the door open completely and stepped into the room toward Bart.

“How’s Jaime?” Bart asked with a strained voice.

“Shh,” Gavin said, and he gingerly grabbed Bart’s left elbow and raised his left hand up to his face. “Save your voice for when you get a drink. I must say, I am impressed with myself. This level of magic is far above anything I’ve done before.” He seemed to be equal parts admiring his own handy work as well as checking Bart’s hand. “We need to keep your leg up; this will probably hurt a bit.” Gavin, again gingerly, cupped his hand under Bart’s left heel and slowly raised it up to put on the bed.

Bart could feel the intense pain coursing through him as he moved. Soon, Bart was back to where he began, sitting instead of lying down, but no closer to Jaime or receiving an answer to his question.

A slender young woman appeared in the doorway, she must have moved pretty quietly as Bart didn’t hear her approach, either that or his pain preoccupied him. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a black pantsuit with black heeled shoes. In her right hand she carried a covered silver serving tray, in her left hand she carried a wooden chair, which Bart recognized as one of Bria’s dining room chairs. She moved into the room, placed the serving tray on the foot of Bart’s bed and with a fluid motion turned the chair around and placed it behind Gavin, making sure it was facing Bart’s bed.

“Thanks Sierra,” Gavin said with a small smile. He slowly lowered himself into the chair and looked as though he was happy to be relaxing.

“Anything else Master Cethin?” Sierra asked. She lifted the tray’s cover to reveal a glass of water, two mugs with steaming tea in them, a small serving bowl with a spoon and sugar, a small serving pitcher with milk, a banana, silverware on a folded napkin, and a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toast.

“No thanks,” Gavin replied. He reached down and grabbed one of the mugs of tea for himself. “Thanks for making sure I had tea as well.” He then scooped a few teaspoons of sugar into it and a few drops of milk, stirred it a little and took a sip. He let out a sigh of relief. Sierra simply nodded her head and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Bart noticed with the light coming into the room that everything was casting a shadow, the chair, the bed, Sierra, himself, but not Gavin. There was nothing to show that Gavin was even interacting with the light. Bart noticed how drained Gavin was acting, each movement taking tremendous effort.

“What’s wrong with you?” Bart asked hoarsely. “And why aren’t you casting a shadow?” Bart’s stomach growled and his throat ached for food and drink. His arms seemed to have a mind of their own, grabbing items off the tray while he was asking his questions.

Gavin took in a deep breath, “I’m drained is all.” He put on a smile, but the bags under his eyes told another story. “It took a lot of magic to keep Jaime from dying and your injuries took a lot of tending to as well. I don’t have a shadow currently; I used it to complete a very complex spell. See that black mist surrounding Jaime.” Gavin turned slightly toward Jaime and pointed at the strange black mist that was slightly obscuring Jaime. “That’s my shadow; it also surrounded you, until you sat up and broke the barrier.”

“But what does it do?” Bart asked with a clearer voice after a big swig of water. He then moved onto the next food item.

“It’s buying me time,” Gavin said shifting to look back at Bart. “My shadow connects me to the Elemental Plane of Shadow, its where my family draws their magic from. Time moves differently there than it does here. By using my connection and passing it onto you two, I was able to slow time down to a crawl, keeping your wounds from getting any worse and keeping you alive. That spell is complicated enough on its own, but then I had to make your bandages. It took me a few hours per bandage to gather enough of Bria’s blood and draw the glyphs on them all.”

“Blood?!” Bart coughed through his food. He looked back at the white ACE bandages with its strange deep red writing.

“I also told you that my brand of magic has very minimal healing capabilities,” Gavin explained. “We deal in necromancy; Bria’s a vampire, so I used my magic mixed with her blood to copy her regenerative powers for you. Don’t worry; you won’t become a vampire with those.” Gavin chuckled a little and took another sip of his tea.

“What day is it?” Bart asked while he finished up his breakfast and moved to fix his tea up how he liked it.

“April 3rd,” Gavin said, pulling his phone out to look at the time, “around 8:30 in the morning.”

Bart’s eyes went wide and he nearly spit out his tea. “April 3rd!” he shouted. “We had a meeting on the 1st about the Reach Ship; they’re going to be looking for us.”

“Relax,” Gavin said calmly, putting a hand up to show it was no big deal. “After my spells were put into place, I used what little magic I had left to take a brief detour into your minds.” Bart looked a little uncomfortable at this. “I didn’t delve deep or open any doors in there. I simply saw when your curfew was and if you had any plans for the following days. I enchanted 2 amulets, one connected to you and one connected to Jaime. If you think really hard, you should remember going to that meeting, it may seem like a dream. Unfortunately you both missed your curfew; the good news is that your fight with Whisper was mostly broadcast from phones and such, no identity reveals, but enough to give enough credibility for being late.”

Bart thought through his past couple of days. He vaguely remembers sitting in a hallway and rapidly tapping his hands and feet, Jaime had to use his hand to stop him from doing so, he also remembers making a promise to keep Blue’s turn to the Reach a secret. His face was scrunched up in concentration when he suddenly felt very ill. The blood rushed from his face and he became cold and clammy. “Blue told them about the Scarab and the Reach Apocalypse.” His eyes turned up toward Gavin. “Did the spell reveal that?”

“No…and yes,” Gavin explained and drank some more tea. “You two were in control of your actions, your sleep state mind controlling the 2 vampires wearing the amulets. However being in a dream mindset, your inhibitions were dropped, so things may have seemed like a good idea when they really weren’t. I’m sorry for any mistake or secret that was spilled, but it’s the best I could do to get you guys to that meeting.” Gavin shifted slightly in his seat, clearly upset about how the spell may have ruined something for them.

“It’s crash dude,” Bart said, getting a bit of his color and warmth back. “Thanks for the save, is Jaime going to be alright?” Bart turned his head to look at Jaime, a look of deep concern coming across his face.

“He should be,” Gavin said, also looking toward Jaime. “His wound was much more serious than yours. Whatever stabbed him missed his heart by less than an inch and it totally pierced through his lung.” Gavin paused to visually inspect the mist barrier. “That mist right now is the only thing keeping him alive. The bandages can heal him inside there, regardless of the time difference, but stopping his wounds was the key.”

There was a sudden knock on the door to the bedroom.

“Master Cethin,” Sierra called from the other side. “There are two people here to see you and Mistress Reynolds, a Nightwing and a Zatanna.”

“I’ll be out in a second,” Gavin called back. Sierra walked away from the door, down the hall. “I guess this means they found out something was amiss.” Gavin turned back to Bart and smiled again. “I’m sure they’ll want to see you.” Bart began to shift in his seated position, trying to move things to get up. Gavin held up his hand to stop him. “Let me make sure your stuff is returned to you, you should probably get dressed before they see you.” Gavin slowly made his way out of his chair. Only stopping for a moment to make sure his balance was good. He shuffled toward the door, opened it, and walked through, closing it behind him.

Bart sat quietly for a minute before the door opened again. This time it was a man who entered the room, balanced on his left forearm and hand, like a server with a tray, were Jaime’s belongings, on his right arm were Bart’s belongings. The man, who was dressed in a black suit sat Bart’s belongings at the end of his bed and Jaime’s belongings on the chair that Gavin was sitting on, not wanting to break the shadow barrier. He then moved the chair to the end of Jaime’s bed before making his way to one of the doors opposite of Bart. He opened it up to reveal a decent sized walk-in closet.

“Your outfit was damaged quite a bit in your fight and all you had in your backpack were swim trunks,” the man said to Bart in an even voice. “Mistress Bria said to take your time looking through here to find an outfit to your liking.” He gestured with his left hand to the closet. “The other door here is the bathroom. Do you require any assistance with anything?” The man waited for a response.

“No thanks,” Bart said, looking at his tattered and torn Impulse outfit.

“Master Cethin says you are not to put weight on your left leg, which reminds me,” the man walked towards the door to the hall and wheeled in a wheelchair. He pushed it over to Bart, in a position for him to climb into it. “Would you like help getting into the chair?”

“I’m not even feeling moded anymore,” Bart began to protest and sat his Impulse outfit back onto the bed, the slight jostling of the movement sending pain up his leg, making him wince.

“Then after you,” the man said with a slightly sadistic smirk on his face. It was then that Bart noticed the man’s particularly long canine teeth.

Bart managed to slide himself into the wheelchair, some pain shooting up his leg as he did so. The wheelchair had his left leg held straight out while his right leg bent at its usual angle and rested into the footrest. The man wheeled him into the closet to pick out an outfit. There were so many choices, ranging from denims to silks, plain t-shirts to fancy suits, sneakers to Italian loafers. Bart picked out a pair of gym-style shorts, a deep black color, and a light blue simple t-shirt; he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t put a bunch of pressure on his injuries. The attendant then wheeled him to the bathroom and left him alone, closing the door behind him. This bathroom was bigger than the bathroom at the Garrick’s house, plenty of room to move, a handicap assist bar next to the toilet and a large walk-in shower with a bench to sit on.

Bart struggled a bit to get his cloths on; not really using his left arm or leg was harder than he thought it would be. After a few minutes, he was now dressed and good to hopefully see Nightwing and Zatanna.

“I’m good,” Bart called out to the attendant.

The door opened and the man wheeled him back to the main bedroom. There was a knock on the door to the hallway.

“Everyone decent in there?” Bria asked through the door.

“As decent as humans can be,” the attendant responded. He walked over and opened the door. In the frame stood Bria, in a black business-style dress, Gavin, Nightwing in his superhero attire, and Zatanna in her stage magician outfit. “I’ll take my leave now ma’am.” The attendant bowed and excused himself from the room.

“There bat-brat,” Bria gestured toward Bart. “Alive and mending. We’ll take our ‘thank you’ now.” Bria seemed highly agitated that she had to tend to guests.

“Thanks,” Nightwing said in a dry tone as he walked into the room toward Bart. “Is this the real Bart and Jaime?” He turned back to Zatanna who put her fingers up to her temples, closed her eyes, and focused.

“Yeah,” Zatanna said. “It’s harder to read Jaime as he is right now, but there is no feedback on them.”

“Feedback?” Bria asked and looked toward Gavin. “I thought your whole spiel was illusions and such?”

“Bria,” Gavin retorted, “I just got finished with two very powerful and unpracticed spells, so forgive me if my illusion work was a little lackluster.”

Zatanna walked up beside Nightwing and both of them looked at Bart’s bandages.

“This is some high level spell craft,” Zatanna commented.

“Is that blood?” Nightwing asked.

“Yes it is,” Bria answered. “It’s mine and you can’t take a sample. How did you guys even find us anyway? Gavin was supposed to have this place shielded.”

“Again Bria,” Gavin sarcastically said. “Just performed very advanced magic, I was tapped, so my previous spells took a bit of a hit.” He looked toward Zatanna. “What sort of feedback are you talking about?”

“Nightwing noticed that Jaime and Bart were acting a little differently than normal,” Zatanna explained. “He would have normally asked Miss Martian to check them, but after her attack against Aqualad, she’s not up to the mind reading. I used a spell to just check surface thoughts and could hear two sets of thoughts, one of them was Jaime, and the other was someone else. Since Bart always follows Jaime, I picked the same thing up on him as well.”

“We returned to the scene of their combat from the previous night,” Nightwing jumped in. “Zatanna sensed more magic at play there. She used a locator spell for a similar magical signature and found a few places. But this place read as the most powerful source and was actively using magic. When we approached the property, Zatanna could sense Jaime and Bart inside.”

“You didn’t just assume that you may have been hearing the Scarab on Jaime?” Bria asked.

“At first I thought so,” Zatanna said. “But I couldn’t hear the Scarab before now and the thoughts were darker than I imagine the Scarab would be, plus picking up a similar magic on Bart was the clarification I needed.”

“You’ve clearly never dealt with these Scarabs before,” Bria chuckled. “They have some pretty dark thoughts.”

“I noticed that the boys were wearing some sort of necklace under their suits,” Nightwing said. “When asked about them, they both stammered and became defensive; they tried attacking me and Zatanna. Thankfully I’m as skilled as I am in hand-to-hand combat; they proved pretty strong when they bent a metal beam with a punch.”

Bria smirked at the thought of her hive attempting to attack superheroes.

“Anyway,” Zatanna continued. “When they turned into bats, we couldn’t believe our eyes. But they did get away.”

“When we got here,” Nightwing said. “I did a quick search as to who owned this place.” He pulled up his left arm and a blue holographic circle appeared with Bria’s picture in the center of it, there was some text that appeared to the right of the image. “Bria Reynolds, billionaire, philanthropist, and mysterious woman. Records on people spotting you go back to the Salem Witch Trials. Which makes you several hundred years old and makes us very curious as to why you’d have Jaime and Bart?”

“Several thousand years old,” Gavin corrected.

“How on earth would you know that?!” Bria snapped and turned toward Gavin.

“You never answered me about your age,” Gavin started. “My healing spell called for vampire blood, so I took a little extra to do a spell to see how old you are.”

“You said it had to be a vampire queen’s blood,” Bria seethed.

“That was a lie,” Gavin admitted. “I’m sure it’s very beneficial, your blood is much stronger than any of your minions. Besides, you never got me that autograph from Dracula, so now we’re even.”

“Just how old are you?” Zatanna asked Bria.

“She’s roughly 4200 years old,” Gavin answered. “The spell may have given me a more exact date if I had more energy to pool into it. But as I said before, I was a little tapped.”

“Not nearly as old as Vandal Savage,” Nightwing mused while bringing his right hand up to his chin and dissipating the hologram.

“Please,” Bria rolled her eyes and turning to Nightwing. “Savage? He might be older than me, but he’s never beaten me in a fair fight. Always relying on his meta-children.”

“You’ve fought Savage?” Nightwing said in surprise, his eyes widening.

“A couple of times,” Bria nonchalantly said. “I moved where the center of civilization moved, better food sources. He also moved with them, more people to control from his perspective. He thought that meta-humans were the future, I think that vampires are the apex predator, so we naturally butted heads.”

“Nightwing,” Zatanna said, she had moved closer to inspect Jaime while everyone was talking. “This looks bad; I can barely sense a life force in him.”

“It was our fight with Whisper,” Bart said from his wheelchair. “She stabbed him at the same time she broke my leg. He couldn’t even talk after getting hit.” Bart’s eyes began to well up with tears.

Nightwing walked over to Bart and put a hand on his shoulder. “You did the right thing calling for help.”

“He’ll be fine,” Gavin said in a calming voice to Bart. “While this magic is new to me, the combination of elemental shadow and the regeneration spell will bring him back. Since we’re using vampire queen blood, maybe better than before.” He put on a sincere smile to try and raise Bart’s spirits.

“Don’t think that discussion is over for a second,” Bria said sternly to Gavin. “I like my privacy as it is, private.”

“That’s going to be a lot harder now,” Nightwing chimed in. “I’m grateful that two new, umm, heroes are helping out, but I really don’t know anything about you or your powers, I also don’t know the agendas of vampires to be comfortable letting these guys here.” Nightwing took his hand from Bart’s shoulder to make sure he was properly facing Bria and Gavin as he talked.

“Please,” Bria rolled her eyes at Nightwing. “If I wanted them dead or turned, they would have been already. This is a guest bedroom not my wine cellar…” Bria just caught what she said. “Damn it! This is all your fault Cethin!”

Gavin chuckled, “I thought you constantly mentioning your wine cellar was a bit suspicious.”

“How are we going to get them back to the Watchtower?” Zatanna asked Nightwing.

“You really can’t with Jaime yet,” Gavin answered, causing both Nightwing and Zatanna to look at him inquisitively. “My elemental shadow barrier around him is slowing down time on his injuries and the bandages are accelerating his healing factor. If you move him, the barrier will drop and he’ll start to die.”

“Don’t worry bat-brat,” Bria reassured. “I will make sure my best behaved hive members are the ones watching them, means that Gavin might have to share Sierra, but it can be done.”

“That’s nice and all,” Nightwing said. “But I’d still like to have someone here to keep an eye on them for us as well.”

“You want me to add another guest to the house?” Bria sighed. “Just no more magic people, my kitchen still smells like an alchemist’s workshop.” She glared at Gavin as she said this.

“Magic needs focusing items!” Gavin blurted out. “Sorry I was a bit drained to clean up; you have a staff for that!”

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’ll be sending Robin out here,” Nightwing interrupted. “He’s capable in his own defense and knows both of them; he can even take care of his own needs.”

“Fine,” Bria said. “He can have the room across the hall. I’ll make sure to let Hodgkins know we are getting another guest.” Bria brought her hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose to show her annoyance. “Last thing I expected in this time was to be a halfway house for super boys.”

“Actually Superboy is someone else entirely,” Gavin corrected with an evil smirk on his face.

Bria shot him a glare that was the epitome of “if looks could kill.” This, of course, caused Gavin to lose control of himself and he started laughing. Zatanna chuckled and brought her hand up to her mouth to try and hide it.

“Thanks Bria,” Nightwing said with a smirk of his own on his face. “We’ll be in contact to check in on their progress.” He turned and faced Bart. “I’m going to let the Garricks know that you are here since we scared off the vampire duplicates, plus they’d be happy to know that you are safe. Are you sure you want to stay here?”

“I’m sure,” Bart said firmly. “I’m not leaving Jaime’s side until he wakes up and feels better.”

“Are you fine with leaving Robin here?” Zatanna asked Nightwing.

“He’ll be fine,” Nightwing assured her, although she knew him well enough to sense the slight worry in his voice. “Besides if he gives a good report on these two,” he gestured toward Bria and Gavin, who could hear the whole conversation, “we may have a spot or two open for them to help out the League and Team.”

“Can’t wait,” Bria said with all the sarcasm she could muster. “Now if you don’t mind, I have another guest to get ready for.” Bria turned and walked out of the room and down the hall.

“Don’t worry you two,” Gavin said to Nightwing and Zatanna. “Bria has a soul now, thanks to an old spell my family put on her. She won’t harm the boys, she hasn’t hurt me. I’m the one in charge of their healing anyway, so they’re in good hands.”

Zatanna raised an eyebrow at Gavin’s words, she’d never heard of putting a soul back into a vampire, let alone a spell to actually see a soul.

Nightwing walked up to Gavin and put a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, Robin will be here in a little bit, make sure he’s treated good.”

“Will do,” Gavin said and he turned to walk out of the room with Zatanna. She had lots of questions about his spells and such.

Nightwing turned to Bart. “We’ll be in touch, if anything goes south or feels wrong, let us know right away.” He lost his soothing tone and replaced it with his mission serious tone.

“Aye aye Captain!” Bart saluted with his right hand. They both laughed at this silliness. “Seriously though, I’ll keep an eye out for myself and Jaime.”

“See you,” Nightwing said, walked out of the room, and closed the door behind him.

Bart looked over at Jaime on the one bed in the room. “Please wake up soon.”


	8. Home Away from Home

Bria’s Manor, Chappaqua, New York

April 4, 09:00 EDT

Gavin, Bart, and Robin (aka Tim Drake) sat around Bria’s large dining room table. They were enjoying the large breakfast spread that Bria’s hive had prepared and listening in on Bria complaining to Hodgkins.

“I don’t see why I have to appear before the Justice League?!” Bria shouted from in the kitchen to Hodgkins.

“They asked you to ma’am,” Hodgkins replied in his usual calm tone of voice. His voice required more effort to hear.

“Aren’t most of them off world anyway?” Bria spat at Hodgkins. “I’m not even getting the whole group of them, just whatever’s left.”

Tim paused from eating his pancakes. “How does she know the whole League isn’t here?” Tim asked Gavin suspiciously.

“She has her ways,” Gavin said and took a sip of his tea. “She’s never trusted that the Justice League didn’t know about her, so she put vampire agents near them.” He picked up his fork to go after his own pancakes when he noticed Tim’s look of concern. “She’s never attacked any of them and I don’t know how she’s learned some of their secret identities.”

Gavin was much more active this morning, able to walk to the table on his own, now that his shadow spell was only affected one person instead of two. Bart still sat in a wheelchair, pushed up to the table to allow him to eat. He still wore his clothing from the previous day, not wanting to move them over his broken hand and leg. Thankfully he didn’t do much, so there was no danger of him smelling. Tim sat in civilian clothing, blue jeans, a red hoodie, black sneakers, and sunglasses, even indoors.

Bart simply took in the conversation, enjoying his third plate compared to every else’s first plate. This time around, he was having scrambled eggs and bacon. He wanted his bones to heal faster, even though he could tell between his heightened metabolic healing and the magic, he’d probably be good enough by the end of the day. He primarily wanted Jaime to wake up.

“Money,” Bria said walking into the dining room. She was dressed like she was heading to a business meeting, black pantsuit and heels. She startled Bart slightly by moving through the door quietly. “Put enough money into some people’s hands and they tell you whatever you want. Not to mention, some of your Justice League members I’ve had run-ins with in the past.”

Tim raised an eyebrow at Bria, “you’ve had run-ins with members of the Justice League?”

“Only two really,” Bria mused while bringing her hand up to her chin. “The only two who are actually old enough to truly know about me is Wonder Woman, but even before her, I battled against the Amazons quite a bit, and Doctor Fate, but we usually left each other alone as long as I wasn’t working with Klarion on anything.” She could see that all three boys were staring at her in bewilderment. “What? I worked with Klarion maybe twice, he’s too much of a loose cannon, even for me, and as far as the Amazons go, that was back in Ancient Greece primarily, I haven’t battled any of them in a couple hundred years. Gods I miss Ancient Greece, those were some fun times.” Bria walked back into the kitchen, leaving the boys alone once again.

“I’m too afraid to ask what happened in Ancient Greece that counts as fun times,” Bart said to the others.

“I think she had some dealings with some gods and goddesses,” Gavin said. “I haven’t pried much into that area of her life, but I doubt she’d say anything in great detail, seeing as she tried to keep how old she a secret from me for the longest time.”

“Maybe we should look around,” Tim said while finishing up his breakfast. “I’m sure she has stuff hidden around here.”

“It’ll never work,” Gavin sighed, working towards finishing his breakfast as well. “Bria’s made deals with various mages and demons in the past, so magically snooping through the house is a waste of time, trust me I know. Then you have Hodgkins, who likes to appear out of nowhere and keep an eye on things, so taking anything is out of the question.”

“Ok,” Tim thought out loud, “what about a séance or finding someone she knew from the past?”

“She’s been alive for over 4,000 years,” Gavin said. “Do you know how many people I’d have to talk to, not to mention I don’t know where all she’s been.” Gavin finished up his plate of food. “There is always Dracula, her sire, but he’s more on the side of the villains, so talking to him…”

“She was sired by Dracula?!” Tim choked out between bites of his breakfast. “Wait, isn’t he much later than Ancient Greece?”

“My goodness!” Bria came back into the dining room. “More Dracula attention! Is there anyone in this time that isn’t obsessed with that son of a bitch?!”

“Ma’am,” Hodgkins said calmly from behind Bria. “You’re going to be late to your meeting.”

“Fine,” Bria said to Hodgkins. “By the way boys, if you want info about me, all you need to do is ask me, I’m an open book.” She glared at Gavin. “At least more open than I wanted to be. Make sure Jaime wakes up soon and don’t destroy my mansion. I’ll be back shortly.” Bria walked toward the garage and made her exit to go meet with the Justice League.

“From what I can tell,” Gavin explained after Bria left for her meeting. “Dracula is much older than he lets on. I speculate that he could very well be the first vampire.”

“So,” Bart began, his voice cracking a little from nerves, “when are you going to check on Jaime?” He tried to sound casual and not look Gavin in the eye, using his fork to push around the food on his plate.

Tim raised his eyebrow and looked at Bart; he had never known the Speedster to be shy or nervous about anything.

“Once we finish breakfast,” Gavin answered. “I’ll get ready for the day and then come by to check up on him and you. Your healing should be nearly done; you made a lot of progress since yesterday.”

“Hey, I’m not just super-fast with the running around,” Bart replied. “My metabolism also moves super-fast, healing included.”

“Appetite included,” Tim said smugly.

All three boys laughed at that, living the life of a superhero, even a hidden hero like Gavin, meant they didn’t have a normal life whatsoever, so this was a nice change of pace for all of them. They finished up their breakfast and headed to their individual rooms to get ready for the day. Bart was still sharing a room with Jaime, Tim had a room right across the hall, and Gavin seemed to be in a completely different wing of the manor.

Bart wheeled himself into the closet, picked out a new set of gym shorts, this time black in color, a new t-shirt, a blue one, and a new set of boxer briefs. Once his clothing was picked, he wheeled himself into the bathroom; thankfully his hand and leg were healed enough that he could get a shower himself, thanks to the handicap accessible shower. Bria had even got him the Apollo Axe shampoo and body wash he liked, probably curtesy of Gavin’s mental spell to help disguise their disappearance. After his quick shower, or as quick as he could move as a speedster with broken limbs, he put his new cloths on and he brushed his teeth. He looked down at the Ace bandages on his hand and leg, they weren’t even wet. He completely forgot about them for the shower, but the magic must have protected them. He then wheeled himself out into the bedroom and waited.

Bart positioned himself at the foot of Jaime’s bed and looked at the older boy. The black mist still enveloped his body, his bandages still wrapped tightly around his torso. He knew he would be around much quicker than the other two, so he had a moment to sit there and think.

 _Why wasn’t I able to be more help with that fight?_ Bart thought to himself. Tears began to well up in his eyes. _No! I’m not going to cry, I’m supposed to be the protector._ He used his good hand to wipe his eyes. He took a deep breath and composed himself. _I’ve dealt with high tech people before, but this one was different. I’ve never dealt with Apokoliptan technology before._ Just as his mind was about to go over another scenario for the other night, there was a slight knock on the door.

“Come in,” Bart said while spinning his chair to face the door. Tim opened the door and came into the room, still wearing the same outfit as before. Gavin walked in right behind him and closed the door. Gavin was wearing a black polo shirt with silver stripes, blue jeans, and black sneakers. “Dude, you were supposed to get ready for the day,” Bart said sarcastically while rolling his eyes at Tim.

“Some of us get up before dawn,” Tim replied. “Without superpowers, I need to work out, which also means I get showered and around before coming to the breakfast table.”

Bart often forgot that about the Bat Family, none of them had any superpowers.

“Sorry man,” Bart sighed.

“No biggie,” Tim smiled at him. “It just means that I have to be on my A game all the time, which is probably why Nightwing sent me here. He knows how distracted you tend to get.”

“Haha,” Bart forced a sarcastic laugh out.

“So,” Gavin started and knelt down in front of Bart. “How are you feeling today?” He carefully picked up Bart’s hand and inspected it.

“A lot better,” Bart said excitedly. “I was even able to maneuver in the shower all by myself, granted it’s a handicap shower, but still.”

“Why aren’t your bandages wet?” Tim asked.

“The magical writing technique,” Gavin answered without looking up. “It’s meant to fade as the healing is completed, so it would be useless if it just washed off in water.”

Bart noticed that the writing on the bandages was almost gone, just faint dark red marks on the bandages for his hand and leg. “That’s so crash! I didn’t even notice that!”

“Told you,” Tim said dryly. “Easily distracted.” Tim smirked at Bart.

Bart looked over at Jaime’s bandages while Gavin moved on to inspect Bart’s leg. Jaime’s bandages were still the color of fresh blood, glowing slightly in the black mist. He was nowhere near healed.

“Don’t worry about Jaime,” Gavin said, still not looking up from inspecting Bart’s leg.

“What?” Bart blushed slightly and turned back toward Gavin like he wasn’t worrying about Jaime. “How did you even know that I turned?”

“Your body shifted in the seat when you moved,” Gavin said and then looked up to meet Bart’s gaze. “Besides, I think it’s nice that you are so worried about him. I’m not entirely sure why, as I didn’t pry with my mental link while you were out, but I could tell there was genuine concern for him.”

Bart blushed even harder, hiding his face in his hands. “It’s not what you think!”

“I assume it has something to do with his Beetle being Reach tech,” Tim chimed in. “You knew about it and decided not to tell us for some reason.”

Thankfully for Bart, for as smart as Tim was, he still was a novice when it came to recognizing people’s emotion, at least those who he isn’t actively investigating. Gavin just smirked at Bart, something about that boy and his magic must have meant he felt Bart’s conflicted feelings. He was also present for Bria’s parting words at the hot spring.

“So, regardless of that,” Gavin continued. “I’ve got enough energy to perform some minor healing magic today.” He stood up from his kneeling position and looked down at Bart. “Do you want me to finish off your healing or try to get Jaime a little farther along?”

“Heal Jaime!” Bart blurted out. “I should be done healing soon, so he needs your help more than me.”

Gavin again smirked at Bart and walked over to Jaime, kneeling on the floor next to the bed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, they were pitch black, and he reached into the veil of black mist. Gavin laid a hand on either side of the bandage, one on Jaime’s left pec and the other on Jaime’s stomach. Bart had a slight nauseous and gut twisting feeling see this happen.

“Sana,” Gavin spoke. The shadows around Jaime bent toward Gavin’s hands and the wound in Jaime’s torso. After a few moments of silence, Gavin’s breathing started to become uneven and beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and roll down his face.

“Gavin!” Tim shouted. “That’s enough!”

Gavin’s eyes returned to normal, the shadows again forming a veil of black mist. He pulled his hands off Jaime and brought them out of the veil. His hands were shaking badly and his face was drained of color. “Sorry,” Gavin said. “I thought I could try and get him awake if I just went a little further.”

“Not at the expense of our healer,” Tim said, helping Gavin to his feet.

Bart looked over at Jaime’s bandages, while they were still clear enough to see the red writing, the symbols were now the color of dried blood, no longer a crimson red or glowing.

“Once I get some tea in me,” Gavin strained. “I’ll be good.”

“How about I get you to your bed and you pass out for a bit?” Tim retorted.

“Nonsense,” Gavin replied with a smirk. “The day is still so young. Besides, I haven’t shown you around the manor yet.”

Bart could see the devilish twinkle in both of their eyes, they were clearly up to snooping around Bria’s mansion, even though Gavin said that it wouldn’t work.

“As long as you think you are up to it,” Tim said warily but strangely hopeful.

Gavin took in a few deep breaths to get his breathing back under control, his face starting to regain some of its color back. “Sierra!” He called out for his assistant.

The door opened and the same young women, in a black pantsuit with her blonde hair pulled back in a bun walked into the room.

“Yes, Master Cethin?” she said.

“Mind pushing Bart around for a bit?” Gavin asked. “I’m going to show them a bit of the manor now.”

“Of course, Master Cethin,” she said and walked behind Bart’s wheelchair and grabbed the handles. “Where are we starting and ending this tour?”

“I think we’re going to start up here,” Gavin said. “If it’s fine with everyone else, I wouldn’t mind ending at the pool. Maybe a picnic style lunch and all.”

The boys agreed on the plan, Bart hoping that Jaime would wake up in time for lunch. As they moved from room to room, Gavin explained what they were seeing. Several guest bedrooms, a music room, dining room, kitchen, wine cellar (not Bria’s private wine cellar, Sierra told them that would be “ill-advised”), billiard room, study, library, conservatory (which had plants that mostly bloomed at night), game room, armory with shooting range, sitting room, computer room, business meeting room, laboratory (no one asked what for), a massive garage (filled with vehicles of both historic significance and value), a gym with high tech combat simulator, grand foyer, and a pool that was indoors and outdoors (a mechanical switch kept the two pools separate until activated). Tim was amazed, this mansion had to rival Batman’s mansion.

Along the way, Tim and Gavin seemed to be having a telepathic conversation. They would both look at something and then Tim would attempt to take something. Bria’s toothbrush somehow made it into Tim’s pocket, only for Hodgkins to appear and steal it back without them noticing. Bart assumed he only noticed because Hodgkins wanted him to notice as either a warning or for fun, he wasn’t sure with him. Tim attempted to connect a flash drive to Bria’s computer, which found its way back into Tim’s pocket, more than likely devoid of any useful information. Tim had even tried to sneak away from the group to get into Bria’s private wine cellar, only to return to the group a few moments later, visibly irritated and Hodgkins in tow. Whoever this Hodgkins was, Bria picked a good watchman for the house.

The group finally ended up at the pool around 11:40. Sierra ran off to fetch their swim wear, leaving the boys alone for a moment.

“Told you,” Gavin said while reclining in a pool chair.

“I thought you were kidding,” Tim said in disbelief also sitting in a pool chair.

“Hodgkins is the best ‘anti-thief’ around,” Gavin replied. “Even magically, I’ve never been able to pull one by him besides that blood trick for Bria’s age, and I’m sure that only worked because Bria gave her unwitting permission.”

“Here you go young masters,” Sierra reappeared with the boy’s swimwear in one hand and a picnic lunch balanced in the other.

The boys ate their lunch, something far too simple for Bria’s taste, sandwiches, ice tea, and chips. Then they moved to get changed into their swimwear, thankfully the pool had its own changing rooms and bathrooms.

“Are you sure about me swimming?” Bart asked Gavin.

“Positive,” Gavin replied. “Your wounds are nearly healed, the bandages won’t get wet, and you’d do best to remind your muscles how they should work. This gives them a better time readjusting than just walking on dry ground again. Besides, we’re only staying in the inside pool, which is heated, so there’s no fear of cold water.”

The boys all changed into their swim trunks. Bart’s red trunks with a single white stripe down each leg, Gavin’s black trunks, and Tim’s red trunks with thick black stripes down each leg. They all applied their own suntan lotion, now that Bart knew he had to put it on. Once their wait was over, they took their time getting into the pool. Gavin sat on the stairs, still not fully recovered from his spell to heal Jaime. Tim dove from the diving board, clearly the most athletic out of the group. Bart walked down the stairs gingerly, keeping the wall of the pool to his right, just in case his leg gave out.

“You know,” Tim said while swimming to a place where he could stand. “Nightwing would totally want me snooping around right now, or training or something. Right now, I’m just kind of happy to be goofing off.” Tim smiled widely, finally getting to act like a normal teenage boy instead of acting like a superhero, his blue eyes finally visible without his sunglasses.

“Well, like I said,” Gavin explained. “There’s no snooping with Hodgkins and you can totally claim this as training if Nightwing asks. Swimming is a full body workout that’s actually fun.”

“I think I can even walk like normal in this pool,” Bart exclaimed. He then took a step with his left leg, which gave out from all the walking he’d done in the pool previously. He fell beneath the water in a big _SPLASH_! He quickly reached up and grabbed the wall to pull himself back up. “I’m ok!” He coughed up water as he spoke. He saw that Tim was swimming closer to him and Gavin was standing and a step farther into the pool.

All three of them burst out in a nice deep belly laugh. Laughing to the point of near tears and gasping for breath, the kind of laughter that is good for the soul.

“Thanks Bart,” Gavin finally managed to speak. “We needed that. How’s your leg?”

“Just fine,” Bart replied. “A little wobbly, but no pain.”

Gavin suddenly grabbed him forehead as if a sudden headache came on.

“What is it?” Tim asked.

“Jaime’s awake,” Gavin said looking at both of them.


	9. Awakening

Bria’s Manor, Chappaqua, New York

April 4, 13:28 EDT

The boys would have made it to Jaime’s room quicker if Hodgkins didn’t make them change out of their swimwear.

“We can’t have you trailing pool water through the manor,” Hodgkins said to the boys.

Bart was, surprisingly, the first one to the room. Adrenaline filled his body as he changed as quickly as he could back into his outfit and he wheeled himself with speed, ignoring the slight twinge of pain that his left hand sent out. He reached for the doorknob and swung the door open. Jaime was sitting on the edge of the bed, doubled over in pain and holding his torso in a motion that looked like he was hugging himself.

“Jaime!” Bart called out, his eyes beginning to sting with tears. He wheeled himself into the room and over to his friend.

“Bart?” Jaime replied, his voice weak and raspy. “What’s going on?”

“You passed out from a rough battle,” Tim said as he walked into the room. He was not as far behind as Bart thought, he had even stopped to grab Jaime a glass of water. “You may want to drink before you speak.” Tim handed Jaime the glass of water.

Jaime chugged the water, he felt like he hadn’t drank anything in a long time. Chugging water with a parched throat only leads to one thing, a coughing fit, which of course he had once he was finished. Tim reached over and patted him on the back to help finish out the coughing fit. Bart felt that same nauseous and gut twisting feeling when he saw Gavin touch Jaime to heal him.

“Gracias hermano,” Jaime said, his voice still a little weak, but no longer raspy. “But where are we, why are you in a wheelchair, and what is this bandage?” Jaime was looking between Tim, Bart, and down at himself.

“I may be able to answer some of that,” Gavin said and walked into the room. He took a seat on Bart’s bed opposite of Jaime; Bart noticed that Gavin was still moving a little sluggish from his previous magic use. “You are in New York, specifically Bria’s manor. Bart is in a wheelchair for the same reason you have a bandage, you guys had a rough battle with Whisper A’Daire in a battlesuit. The bandage is my version of healing magic.” Gavin kept a calm and level voice as he explained things, like he’d spent time tending to injured people before.

Jaime looked puzzled at all the information, like he was still slightly asleep. “How did we get to New York? Weren’t we in New Mexico?”

“You were,” Gavin chuckled slightly. “I transported all of us here, except Tim, he came yesterday. Nightwing wanted to make sure you guys were alright.”

“Nightwing?” Jaime asked. “How did he hear about the battle so soon? We only fought yesterday.”

Everyone paused, no one realized that Jaime didn’t know what day it was or that he’d been unconscious for nearly 4 days.

“Yeah,” Gavin started, “about that…”

“What?” Jaime asked, suspicious since everyone had gone quiet and was staring at him.

“It’s been nearly 4 days since our battle,” Bart said softly. “It’s April 4th now.”

“What?!” Jaime shouted. He suddenly reached down and hugged his torso again in pain. He groaned slightly, Bart reached out and placed a hand on Jaime’s knee for comfort.

“Don’t worry though,” Bart starting explaining. “Gavin put a spell on some vampires and they took our place for us the last couple of days. They even went to the debriefing with Black Canary…” Bart abruptly stopped; he’d completely forgotten that Blue spilled about the Reach Apocalypse while in his dream state, which made the vampires spill it to the Justice League.

“What is it?” Jaime asked, a look of concern on his face.

“Yeah,” Tim started. “You kind of told Black Canary and Nightwing about the future and how you enslave the Earth to help the Reach. You also asked to have the Scarab removed.”

“WHAT?!” Jaime shouted, again forgetting of his injured torso, causing him to recoil from the pain.

“The procedure is set for April 7th,” Tim explained. “It’s experimental; Bumblebee and Atom will be shrinking down and trying to remove the Scarab from the inside. They figured that was the best bet.”

 _Such a tactic would be ineffectual_ , the Scarab told Jaime.

Jaime rolled his eyes, whatever sleep he was in, the Scarab had been quiet, so he actually got to enjoy his rest.

“How come I don’t remember any of this?” Jaime asked. “I mean the telling Nightwing and Black Canary; I’m actually remembering the battle the more I think about it.” Jaime became clammy just remembering the feeling of drowning and being unable to speak.

Bart could feel Jaime’s body tense up when he spoke; his skin felt sweaty, yet cold. The look of horror on Jaime’s face caused Bart to feel immense guilt; he should have been able to help more.

“The spell I used,” Gavin explained. “It let you pilot two of Bria’s vampires, to a degree.” Gavin looked down at his hands and began to fidget with the bottom of his shirt. “You were in a dream-like state and were the one actually talking with the other people around you, even Bart, who was also under the same spell.” Gavin looked up and gestured to Bart. “However, since the spell kept you in the dream-like state, your inhibitions were down, meaning you spilled that secret since you thought it was just a dream.”

“That still doesn’t explain why I don’t remember any of it,” Jaime furrowed his brow trying to recall.

“The memories will come back,” Gavin continued. “Since the spell mentally linked you with another individual, it’s going to take a little bit of time to detangle the memories.”

Jaime sat there, trying desperately to recall any of what he was just told, but nothing was coming to his mind. He remembers the hot spring, McDonalds, the fight with Whisper, and the shower. _¡Por Favor!_ Jaime thought. _Why of all things can I remember that shower vividly?_

 _It seems that your body was releasing high volumes of dopamine during your shower_ , the Scarab explained. _I hypothesize that you are physically attracted to the Impulse_.

 _Stop it Scarab!_ Jaime yelled back in his mind. _It’s not like that! I’m just not used to having a friend that wants to tag around for everything_.

“Everything alright Blue?” Bart asked, drawing Jaime out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” Jaime replied, he could feel his face growing warmer as he began to blush. “Could I maybe get some food and more water? Maybe have a minute to talk things out with Bart?” Jaime glanced up at Tim and Gavin.

“Not a problem,” Tim said. “I’ll be right across the hall if you need anything.”

“I’ll have Sierra get you some food and water,” Gavin said while standing up. “I’ll be in the library if you need me.”

Both Tim and Gavin left the room and closed the door behind them, leaving Bart and Jaime alone. Bart pulled his hand off of Jaime’s knee and sat back in a more relaxed pose.

“What’s up?” Bart asked.

Jaime let out a deep breath. “What exactly happened?”

“Well,” Bart replied. “It’s like Gavin said, we fought Whisper in a high tech suit.”

 _Apokoliptian_ , the Scarab clarified.

“She totally made us feel the mode. She broke my hand, and my leg, and stabbed you.” Bart felt the guilt building up in him as he retold the story. “I managed to call Gavin, you tried to, but you didn’t seem able to speak. Next thing I knew, I blacked out and woke up in that bed.” Bart pointed to the bed next to Jaime’s bed. “I only woke up yesterday, but Nightwing and Zatanna both came by to check in on us. Bria left this morning to go meet with the Justice League and Gavin laid on more healing magic for you this morning as well.”

Jaime’s head was spinning trying to keep up with all the facts.

 _The Impulse seems to be telling the truth_ , the Scarab said. _His bioreadings indicate that he feels guilt in your injury_.

“Hermano,” Jaime said. “There’s nothing you could have done to stop me from getting stabbed.” Jaime’s facial features softened, trying to hold back his own pain in order to comfort his friend.

“We don’t know that!” Bart retorted. “If I had been thinking I could have disabled her faceplate before either of us got injured. Or maybe I could have run for help from another Team member.”

“That’s the hero gig,” Jaime explained. “We have to be able to try and save the day ourselves, if help is nearby that’s great, if not, then it’s up to us.” Jaime put his arm out and touched Bart’s knee for reassurance. “We did the best we could, we beat the bad guy, and you managed to get us help.”

Bart blushed slightly, both from having Jaime touch his leg and from being told how working around actual heroes worked.

 _Dopamine levels increasing in the Impulse,_ the Scarab said.

Jaime also blushed and pulled his hand back abruptly.

 _Dopamine levels also increasing in you, Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said. _It would appear that you both have an equivalent physical attraction towards one another_.

“Scarab!” Jaime blurted out.

“Is something wrong with your Scarab?” Bart asked.

Before Jaime could answer, there was a knock on the door.

“Master Reyes, your food and water are here,” Sierra said through the door.

“Come on in,” Bart said.

Sierra opened the door, carrying a covered tray in her hands. She sat the tray at the foot of Jaime’s bed and lifted the cover. There was a pitcher of water with ice floating inside it, an empty glass, and a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup.

“Master Cethin insisted you eat something light,” Sierra explained. “He says that he doesn’t want you to suffer any shadow sickness since you’ve been under for so long. Will there be anything else?”

“No thanks Sierra,” Bart replied.

“Just holler if you need anything else, Master Reyes, Master Allen,” Sierra did a polite bow as she addressed each boy. She left the room and closed the door behind her.

“Who was that?” Jaime asked. “What does she mean shadow sickness?”

“That was Sierra,” Bart explained. “She’s one of Bria’s servants; she is also the friendliest of them. I’m not entirely sure what shadow sickness is, but Gavin had to use a spell to slow time to allow our wounds to heal. It involved his shadow or something. It’s totally crash though, I didn’t even know magic could be so useful!” Bart smiled as he thought of all the ways he would use magic if he had it. He then realized that Jaime hadn’t answered his question and the smiled faded from his face. “Jaime, is something wrong with your Scarab?”

“No,” Jaime answered, still not entirely understanding the magic thing. He blushed again as his mind came back to what Bart had actually meant. “It’s nothing; Scarab is just doing what he always does, reading the bioreadings of people nearby.”

 _Dopamine levels again increasing,_ the Scarab said.

“Anything wrong with anyone nearby?” Bart asked with a concerned look on his face.

“No,” Jaime answered. “The Scarab is just reading a type of hormone that it found in both of us. It seems to think that we are physically attracted to one another.” Jaime chuckled slightly but kept a close eye on Bart’s reaction.

“Sorry Blue,” he said. Bart felt his face get a lot warmer; he was blushing a deep shade of red. “I’m just very confused right now. I’ve never had anything close to a friend in the future, let alone being able to spend so much time alone with someone, we really weren’t allowed to have relationships in the future, and the Reach wanted to keep gathering people with the metagene in the future. I didn’t think I’d actually get to know you or really like you, even as friends, considering all that they have you do. I can totally stop hanging around you if you feel moded.”

 _Based on my readings,_ the Scarab started, _the Impulse feels embarrassment, guilt, and attraction, but nothing he spoke was a lie_.

“Bart,” Jaime said. “I’m not entirely sure how I feel about all of this either.” Jaime could also feel his face growing warmer as his cheeks began turning red. “But I know I don’t want to lose our friendship. I am completely crash with having you hang around as my friend. How about we bench any discussion about any potential relationship until the Reach is dealt with?”

Bart let out a slight sigh of relief, although he’d be lying to himself if he also said he didn’t feel slightly disappointed at the same time.

“Sounds crash hair-man-oh,” Bart replied, although not as enthusiastically as he usually would. “Well, you better eat; you don’t want any of that shadow sickness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations:  
> ¡Por Favor!- For Goodness Sake!


	10. Hanging Out

Bria’s Manor, Chappaqua, New York

April 6, 08:14 EDT

“So tomorrow night is your procedure to try and remove your Scarab,” Tim explained as he smothered his blueberry waffles in syrup. “Bumblebee and Atom will enter your bloodstream and attempt to remove the Scarab at its roots.”

 _As previously stated, such a tactic would be ineffectual_ , the Scarab told Jaime. Jaime simply rolled his eyes and continued eating his eggs.

“Just make sure they have one of those blue hospital gown things for me as well,” Bart interjected, making sure to get his fill of the large breakfast spread Bria’s staff had prepared. “I want to be there when that bug feels the mode.”

“Quick question hermano,” Jaime turned to look at Bart. “I thought you said that you could heal a broken bone in about 2 hours with your metabolism. Why did it take you so long, even with a magical assist?” Everyone turned to look at Bart.

 _The Apokoliptian tech sent out a disruptor field with its attacks,_ the Scarab explained, _causing a subatomic vibration counteracting the Impulse’s natural healing factor._

“Now you tell me!” Jaime snapped. He looked over at the slightly embarrassed and slightly confused face of Bart. “Sorry hermano, the Scarab just told me about some sort of disruptor field that the crazy alien suit was putting off.”

“Here I thought my magic that slowed time down was the cause of the slower natural healing,” Gavin pondered. He was definitely much more awake and aware now that he had a couple days with no spells working to keep people alive.

“The disruptor field makes sense,” Tim said. “Nightwing said the suit was built to cause a lot of damage to whatever it hit. Even Red Tornado said it was clearly designed for combat alone, having no real exploration value.”

“It’s upsetting that I didn’t get the chance to fight it,” Bria said, she then sipped on her morning coffee mug. She lowered her mug and dabbed the small line of red from her lips with her napkin. “Then again, if she fell so easily to you two, she wouldn’t have lasted long against me.” Bria smirked at the boys, clearly baiting them into challenging her.

Jaime still couldn’t get use to the fact that not only were vampires real, but one was sitting nearby and actually drinking blood from a coffee cup of all things.

“I also have that family meeting coming up soon,” Gavin said, clearly ignoring Bria’s attempt to fight someone. “Not looking forward to that.”

“I still don’t understand why I can’t come along,” Bria pouted. “I’m your guardian and all.”

“I don’t understand,” Bart chimed in. “I think it’s totally crash to be able to see my family! Why aren’t you happy to see yours?”

“I thought your family died a few months ago in that tornado?” Tim asked. “Sorry, that came out insensitive.”

“My actual family died a few months ago, and you’re not my legal guardian,” Gavin explained. “While it was a tornado, it wasn’t a natural occurrence, it was a summoned tornado by another mage, and I was also meant to be in the house with my family.” Gavin had to pause to get his breathing under control. “This family meeting is amongst the other magical families that all want to control a magical location in Salem, Massachusetts.”

“They’re all pricks,” Bria added. “I may not be your legal guardian, but I’m keeping you alive, and the families don’t like ‘inhuman creatures’ being around them, plus not being a mage myself. With Gavin being the only Cethin left, he has to go to represent his family.”

“Even with going to that meeting,” Gavin said. “I’m still available through my summoning token, should you need me.” Gavin looked up at the other boys. “Please feel free to need me.”

“No he’s not,” Bria deadpanned. “Gavin, you know full well that this meeting can’t be skipped. This meeting is going to determine the location of the next war, which information will be invaluable to have.” Bria then looked over to Tim. “If you need any help,” she said while rolling her eyes, “feel free to hit me up, just make sure there will be lots of violence involved.”

“What war?” Tim asked, raising an eyebrow in intrigue.

“Nothing that is of concern for a little while,” Gavin said. “Long story short, it has the title of being a war, but it’s more of a ceremonial battle between the families, no one outside the families is usually hurt and there are rules and such.” Gavin pushed himself out from the table and stood up. “Well, I’m full, anyone want to test out the combat training simulator?”

All the boys walked through Bria’s mansion, only stopping briefly for Tim and Bart to get their superhero suits on, then down a flight of stairs and through a double door. The room beyond was a pretty large room, roughly the size of a basketball court, with granite gray walls, ceiling, and floor. On the left wall of the room, a window stretched the length of the wall, but instead of seeing the outdoors, a large control room could be seen, with various control boards and panels. Sierra sat in the control room and smiled up at the boys as they entered.

“This is so CRASH!” Bart yelled, throwing his arms up in excitement. “But, I thought for a training room, there’d be more equipment.” His voice came back down to a normal volume as his eyes scanned the room.

“It used to have more equipment in here,” Gavin explained smugly. “But with a little bit of shadow magic, now the room can generate its own equipment when needed, enemies included.” Gavin turned to face Sierra, “Riverside Park please Sierra.”

Sierra pushed a few buttons on the control panel in front of her and the walls of the room turned from granite gray to pitch black. Shapes began to rise from the floor, at first nothing more than simple black columns, but then they molded themselves into the silhouettes of trees as branches began growing from their sides. The floor in the middle of the room began to rise slightly and curve on its own, taking the shape of natural uneven terrain. As soon as everything took shape, the black images began to take on color, green grass, brown tree trunks sporting branches with leaves and needles, a soft breeze blowing through making the leaves rustle, the sound of a flowing river in the distance, even the smell of nature, soil, grass, flowers, permeated the room.

“Woah,” Jaime, Bart, and Tim all sighed out at the same time.

“I know,” Gavin gloated. “Before I got here, it was just a plain old room with a few pieces of exercise equipment and a sparring dummy.”

“For your information,” Bria said from behind them, sounding annoyed. “That ‘plain old room’ was state of the art, top notch exercise equipment, and a combat robot, not a ‘sparring dummy.’”

“And how many times did you have to replace that robot?” Gavin asked as he smirked at her.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bria huffed. “It’s not like I didn’t have the money to keep replacing it.”

 _My sensors indicate that the terrain is false,_ the Scarab said. _The terrain itself is incompatible with anything in this scarab’s archives._

“Uh, dude,” Jaime spoke to his Scarab, his eyes looking up towards the ceiling, which now showed an overcast sky, complete with moving clouds and the occasional bird. “It’s magic, I don’t think it’s ‘compatible’ with anything.” Jaime looked back down to the others in the room with him. “Sorry,” he said, bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his neck. “The Scarab doesn’t like the magic ground and all.”

“Not to worry,” Gavin said, waving off the insult of the Scarab. “Magic and technology have a hard time working in tandem; it took me 2 weeks and countless attempts to get my magic to work with the control board. So I don’t expect the Scarab to understand it on first contact.”

“Two weeks,” Bria started, “lots of money and a boat load of stinky herbs.”

“Those shadow explosions were an accident,” Gavin explained. “Besides, you just said you have plenty of money and the herbs were needed to properly enchant the room.” Gavin turned back to look into the room again. “Anyway, we came here to train and make sure my healing magic put these two together properly. Go ahead and suit up Blue.”

“Are you sure this a good idea, ese?” Jaime asked. He still couldn’t believe that he was healed from the severity of his injury just 6 days ago.

 _Your injury has healed completely,_ the Scarab said. _This Gavin Cethin has proven to be a capable healer, I recommend not vaporizing him in case of future need._

“A perfectly good idea,” Gavin said. “It will get you to loosen your muscles again and back in fighting shape.”

“Ok,” Jaime willed his black and blue beetle suit to encase him yet again. “Who are we training against exactly?”

“Let’s see,” Gavin pondered. “Bria can handle just about anybody on her own, so a challenge for her would be Black Adam.”

“Wait,” Tim sputtered out. “You’re going to get Black Adam here?”

“I wish,” Bria exclaimed. “But sadly no, this simulator simply creates duplicates of people, based on news footage, police records, and magical scanning.” Bria cracked her knuckles and stretched her shoulders. “I do hope a copy of Black Adam can keep up though, I’ve already kicked his ass plenty of times in the past, the real one at that.”

“For the 4 of use,” Gavin continued. “I’ll keep it to simple brawlers to make sure the healing has worked, but still a challenge. How does Bane and Sportsmaster sound?”

“Not entirely sure who those are,” Bart said with curiosity. “But they can’t be any worse than the last battle we had.” Bart grinned from ear to ear; he was always good at projecting a positive attitude even when he didn’t feel it.

“Sierra,” Gavin called out to the control booth. “Black Adam, Bane, and Sportsmaster please.”

Sierra moved over to a computer screen and punched a few buttons, in the middle of the clearing three black shapes rose from the ground. The shapes took on a human silhouette form and then color began to wash over them until they were a perfect copy of Black Adam, Bane, and Sportsmaster. Sierra pushed another button and the villain’s eyes snapped open and they took their fighting stances while facing off against the heroes.

“Ok team,” Tim called out. “Bria’s got Black Adam, Gavin and Impulse will take on Bane, and Blue and myself will take on Sportsmaster.”

“This isn’t the ‘team’ as you know it,” Bria scoffed. “We do things a little differently here.” Bria ran towards Black Adam, breaking away from the group. Black Adam flew toward Bria, lifting only about 3 feet off the ground. The two of them collided, sending a small shockwave through the training room. They exchanged blow for blow, working like two brawlers in the middle of a bar fight, tons of raw strength, not a whole lot of finesse.

“Well Impulse,” Gavin said. “Let’s take down Bane.” Gavin began to levitate off the ground and hover in the air.

“Oh, this is so crash!” Bart said and ran his usual supersonic speed toward Bane. Gavin flew in the air behind him. Neither boy could remotely match Bane in a test of physical strength, but both could avoid being hit, whether it was Bart’s speed or Gavin’s flight. They seemed to be working off the tactic of wearing their opponent out. With the occasional hit and run from Impulse and blast of shadow energy from Gavin.

“Guess that just leaves us hermano,” Jaime said and changed his hands into his beetle blades. Jaime and Tim, who pulled out his electric staff, charged towards Sportsmaster, since they both had weapons, they could easily deflect his own weapon attacks.

The three combat groups were doing great, no one complained of any muscle cramps, soreness, or past injuries. After a grueling 10 minutes of battle, the simulation ended. Bria stood upon Black Adam in her best Captain pose, Bane toppled after tiring himself out and getting a double hit from a shadow blast to the legs and Impulse running full speed and close lining him, and Sportsmaster got knocked into the air by a plasma blast from Blue and then hit with a few thrown explosives by Tim. The boys were winded from their sparring session.

“Definitely did a good job with the healing hermano,” Jaime gasped out. “Even this deep breathing doesn’t hurt.” He was still standing, but he was hunched forward slightly, using his own knees as a standing support.

“Not a problem,” Gavin replied, slightly more winded than Jaime. “At least you guys are more use to these physical brawls than I am. I’m use to spell battles.” Gavin was also standing, but he was holding his side from breathing too hard.

“I haven’t had a workout like that before,” Tim said. “Batman has more of a traditional gym and we sparred one another in the Cave.” Tim was the most upright of the bunch besides Bria, but he also had a staff to lean on.

“I don’t know about you guys,” Bart breathed out from his seat on the simulated grass. “But I could definitely use some fuel after that, feeling a little moded right now.”

“Something wrong boys?” Bria asked while walking up to them, smirking. “You all seem out of breath, but then again I don’t breathe.”

“We’re done Sierra, thanks,” Gavin called out to the control room. The room’s image shuddered, like an earthquake was happening. The park lost all color, returning to its pitch black silhouette, then the shadow masses collapsed in on themselves, draining back into the floor, walls, and ceiling until the room looked like its granite gray base template, leaving the group of them on a level floor. “Maybe next time we’ll pick someone with blessed weapons, that should be sporting,” Gavin sarcastically said to Bria.

“That would be a challenge,” Bria mused. “But considering your little shadow enchantment can’t actually bless weapons, I think I’m good for now.” Bria scanned the group of teens and saw that they had been working out for a bit. “However, I’m going to suggest you all head back to your rooms and get freshened up. I can’t stand the smell of sweat.” Bria walked off and out of the training room.

“Yeah,” Tim said, stopping to actually sniff himself. “Maybe hitting the showers wouldn’t be a bad idea. Nice job team, I guess we can meet back up at lunch.”

With that, the boys all divided and went to their rooms, which meant that Jaime and Bart had to take turns with the bathroom.

“You go first hermano,” Jaime said to Bart. “I don’t mind waiting.”

“Thanks Blue,” Bart said and made his way to the bathroom.

Jaime sat on his bed, not knowing how long it would actually take Bart to shower. He guessed it could be 30 seconds, with being a speedster and all, or half-an-hour, with not being able to get a shower in the future. Either way, it left Jaime alone with his thoughts.

 _This unit scans a drop in your serotonin levels Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said. _My records indicate that such a drop can be caused by depression or anxiety._

“Wouldn’t you be a little depressed or anxious if you knew you caused an apocalypse?” Jaime asked.

 _There is no way to verify if what the Impulse says is true,_ the Scarab replied. _However, your dopamine levels increase when you are around the Impulse. Perhaps you should do so to combat your dropping serotonin levels._

“Are you saying you want me to spend more time with Bart?” Jaime asked, feeling his cheeks flush slightly. “I thought you keep telling me to eliminate him?”

 _Clearly you aren’t listening to me when this unit tells you to eliminate people,_ the Scarab said. _The Impulse seems to be important to you in some way, so he can at least do you a favor and help reverse your dropping serotonin levels._

“So you're saying just to hang out with Bart, not date him?” Jaime asked.

 _This unit doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘date,’_ the Scarab said. _This scarab can only recommend that you combat your chemical imbalance with a known countermeasure, spending time with the Impulse._

“Well,” Jaime said. “As soon as Bart is out of the shower…”

“All done,” Bart said as he opened the bathroom door. He held onto the towel around his waist with his left hand and moved toward the closet. “Sorry Blue, forgot to get any clothes before heading in there. But I figured since we lived at the Cave together and all, I could just walk over to the closet and get changed in there, no biggie.”

Jaime watched as Bart moved toward the closet, his cheeks burning hotter.

 _Dopamine levels increasing,_ the Scarab said. _The Impulse is having the desired effect._

“Shut up!” Jaime whisper shouted to the Scarab.

“What’s that Blue?” Bart asked and turned to Jaime before he made it to the closet. Bart’s lean but muscular body kept distracting Jaime’s eyes from keeping focused on Bart’s face.

“Nothing,” Blue responded, breaking his stare at Bart, attempting to look anywhere else in the room. “I’ll hop in the shower now.” Jaime got up from the bed and moved quickly into the bathroom. “Way to go Scarab, you keep making things awkward.”

 _This embarrassment is an annoyance,_ the Scarab said. _I was only suggesting talking to the Impulse in order to combat your anxiety, no reason for anything to be ‘awkward.’_

“Once I get cleaned up,” Jaime started, “then I’ll talk to Bart. Maybe shed some more light on the future. Just let me alone for a few minutes while I shower.”

Jaime actually got what he asked for. For 10 glorious minutes, he was allowed to relax in the shower and clean himself. No Scarab talking, or thoughts about Bart, or impending doom from the Reach Apocalypse, just time to breathe deep and relax. Once he turned the water off, he stepped out of the shower and dried off, that’s when he realized his problem. He only had his old clothing in the bathroom with him. He’s spent the entire time that Bart was in the shower talking to the Scarab that he ran out of time to grab a new outfit.

 _The Impulse had no issue with walking out in just a towel earlier,_ the Scarab said. _The two of you are anatomically similar; there is no reason for your level of embarrassment._

“You really don’t understand human emotion and confusion do you ese?” Jaime asked the Scarab. “But fine, whatever. I guess I’ll just change in the closet like he did.” Jaime wrapped his towel around his waist and headed for the door. He hesitated ever so slightly, and then decided just to do it. He opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom. Bart was sitting on his bed, his face in his phone, playing some sort of video game, but of course, as soon as Jaime appeared, Bart’s eyes snapped up toward him.

“Uhh…” was all Bart managed to say, staring at Jaime. Bart’s cheeks went from his usual fair skin tone to a deep shade of red real quick.

 _Dopamine…_ the Scarab started.

“Just forgot my clothes,” Jaime blurted out, cutting off the Scarab, and walked to the closet. He made sure to turn his face to hide his own blushing face. He fumbled with the doorknob slightly but managed to get into the closet and close the door behind himself. “There is no need to comment on everyone’s bioscans all the time,” he whispered to the Scarab.

 _Tactical awareness is an advantage,_ the Scarab replied. _Knowing your opponents and their current state is priceless._

“Ok,” Jaime breathed out. “Just keep it to my enemies, Bart’s a friend, it feels like I’m invading his feelings when you tell me this.”

 _Fine,_ the Scarab relented. _For the time being, this Scarab will not comment on the Impulse. Should that change, this Scarab will recommend immediate evisceration._

“No doubt about that,” Jaime said. Jaime set about to getting changed into clean clothes, a pair of boxers, blue jeans, and a blue t-shirt, plus his usual socks and shoes. He stepped out of the closet and back into the bedroom. It was only then that Jaime saw what Bart was wearing, blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt whose torso was grey but the sleeves were red. Bart also wore his usual socks and sneakers.

“All good now Blue?” Bart asked. His cheeks had regained their usual color. Bart reached onto the nightstand by the bed and picked up a handful of chicken whizees, tossing them into his mouth.

“When did you get food?” Jaime asked.

“When you were getting changed,” Bart said with a smirk. “You should have seen the look on Hodgkins face when I ran right past him into the kitchen.”

“So Bart,” Jaime started and walked over and sat on his own bed. “The Scarab thinks we should talk.”

Bart sat up straight on his bed and turned to face Jaime. “What does the Scarab want to know?”

“Actually,” Jaime said. “The Scarab just wants us to talk. Ever since you told me about the Reach Apocalypse, it keeps telling me my depression and anxiety levels are higher, but it knows that I can relax around you. I think he just wants me to have someone to talk to.”

“No problemo Blue,” Bart said. “I’m more than happy to spend time with you and talk.”

“Ok,” Jaime said. “The thing is, I don’t know what to talk about. If I talk about the future, I think I just get more stressed out, so maybe something not Reach related.”

“Ok,” Bart mused, bringing his hand to his chin to think. “Ooh, I got it. What about just getting to know each other’s likes and dislikes? It will keep your mind off of the Reach and give us more ideas to chill-hang later.” Bart was enthusiastic to learn more about Jaime and this was the perfect chance to do so.

“Ok,” Jaime said hesitantly. “Not sure how this will help, but here goes. When’s your birthday?”

“Oh, easy questions first huh?” Bart asked. “February 22nd, how about yours?”

“July 8th,” Jaime replied.

“My turn,” Bart said. “Favorite color?”

“To no one’s surprise, blue,” Jaime replied.

“Mine’s red,” Bart said. “But given the family connection, shouldn’t be a surprise either.”

“Ok, favorite food?” Jaime asked.

“Well,” Bart started. “The future really only had food for sustenance not taste, so nothing there, but here in the past, definitely these chicken whizees.” Bart smiled and then threw another handful of the snack into his mouth.

“No surprises there either,” Jaime chuckled. “I’d have to say mine is churros.”

“What are those?” Bart asked, his eyes filled with wonder of a new food to try.

“They are a fried dough treat,” Jaime explained. “I think they are best when dipped in dulce de leche, which is like a chocolate icing type thing.”

“Those sound heavenly,” Bart said dreamily. “Ok, first hard question.” His tone shifting back to a more serious one. “If you weren’t a superhero, what would you be?”

Jaime hadn’t thought about that in a decent amount of time. The Scarab had been attached to his back for months now, and it completely derailed everything for him.

“Wow,” Jaime said. “Well before all this superhero stuff started, I really wanted to be a dentist.”

“What’s a dentist?” Bart asked.

“You really didn’t have those in the future?” Jaime asked, but the puzzled and slightly embarrassed look on Bart’s face told him what he needed to know. “They are a doctor for your teeth. My family is big into going to college and getting a higher education, after a lengthy conversation with my dentist, I’ve always wanted to be one.”

“That’s sounds crash,” Bart said. “In the future, the Reach just has standard health checks, nothing special like a dentist.”

Jaime had another realization, not only would his Reach Apocalypse ruin the world, but it would apparently destroy a bunch of jobs and professions as well. His eyes drifted off towards the floor as a new wave of anxiety crashed over him.

“But I don’t even know the answer to my own question,” Bart continued, not really noticing Jaime’s thoughts. “There really is no alternative in the future. I’ve always just wanted to get away and maybe start a family of my own, just away from the Reach.” Bart looked over and saw Jaime didn’t look like he was having fun anymore and a wave of guilt came over him. “I’m so sorry Jaime; I didn’t mean to bring up the future.”

“It’s alright,” Jaime deadpanned. “I didn’t realize how much the Reach actually destroys.”

“Hey,” Bart said softly while getting up to sit next to Jaime. He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. “That’s the reason I came back. To make sure none of that happened, and I’m going to succeed in keeping you off mode.”

Jaime put on a smile, even if it wasn’t truly genuine. “So, you want to start a family? Anyone you had in mind for that?” Jaime elbowed him playfully in the ribs and the two boys laughed and continued their game of questions. Jaime's spirits lifting as they talked.


	11. Honesty and Deceit

Bria’s Manor, Chappaqua, New York

April 6, 10:02 EDT

Bart hadn’t truly thought too hard about his future family. Everything has always been about the Reach, being their slaves, trying to resist, and now being in the past to try and stop them. He knew he wanted a family and to one day get away from it all. He knew he could see himself raising a family, kids running underfoot, a dog or cat lazily laying in his lap, but he never really saw the face of his partner. But now, in this room with Jaime, that’s all he saw for his future. The two of them, chill-hanging in their own home. A pet forcing its way between them as they slept. Children to play with together, educate together, raise together. Bart realized that Jaime was the one person who knew the truth to his mission, the one person who he could let down his guard to, the one person he genuinely enjoyed spending time with, besides family.

“You good hermano?” Jaime asked. This was the longest Bart had even been quiet or still.

Bart didn’t even realize that he was lost in thought. His mind quickly focused on what was happening around him. Jaime and Bart were sitting on Jaime’s bed playing a game of questions to get to know each other. Bart’s face turned a deep shade of crimson as he realized where his mind went.

“Totally fine ah-me-go,” Bart blurted out, again ruining his Spanish. “Uh, what was the question again?”

“I asked if you had anyone in mind to start your family with?” Jaime asked again, this time more curious for an answer, especially if the thought process had been enough to stop Bart in his tracks. “Any ladies from the future waiting for you?”

“No,” Bart gulped. “No future ladies waiting for me.” Bart averted his eyes from Jaime, attempting to look anywhere but at the boy sitting next to him.

“Still didn’t answer my question, ese.” Jaime reminded him, raising an eyebrow.

“Ok, but before you answer back,” Bart started, “just hear me out. Again, the future being as moded as it is, not a whole lot of thought went into anyone from there. It wasn’t until I came back to the past as a tourist that I was really given a free moment to truly think about this.” Bart took a deep breath and then forced himself to look into Jaime’s eyes. Those dark brown eyes were enough to distract him alone, but he needed to focus now. “I know you are still crash with me being around you and you want to wait until the Reach are kicked off world to talk, but since we’re being honest with our game, I have to tell you. It’s you Jaime. You’re the one I see myself with in the future.”

Jaime’s cheeks quickly flushed as red as Bart’s, he honestly wasn’t expecting that answer, at least not so upfront. Bart usually deflects if he doesn’t want to answer, but this was a stone-cold admission.

“Again, I hope you’re still crash with me being around you?” Bart quickly threw in.

“I’m still crash if you want to hang out with me,” Jaime said, even though he was lost in his own thoughts.

“So, what’s your answer?” Bart asked, attempting to regain his composure.

Jaime was just a normal teenager, until a few months ago when the Reach’s Scarab attached itself to his back, he hadn’t put much thought into his future spouse. He was close to finishing high school, so he was looking at colleges recently, but that all changed when he became a hero. Now he had the fate of the world on his shoulders and Bart wanted to know who he planned a future with.

“To be perfectly honest hermano,” Jaime said, regaining his bearings. “I’ve been so busy with school, then hero stuff, then the Reach Apocalypse, that I haven’t been able to think of a future for myself.” Jaime could see the disappointment coming onto Bart’s face, that’s when he realized that he truly cared what Bart felt, he didn’t like seeing him hurt. He put his hand on Bart’s shoulder and made sure they locked eyes with each other. “But tell you what. After spending the last 2 days recovering and hanging with you, I know that I definitely want you in my future. As soon as the Reach is kicked off world, I would be happy to talk out what our future holds.”

“Promise?” Bart asked hopefully.

“Promise, ese,” Jaime replied.

“Well, I guess that makes it my turn to ask the next question,” Bart assuming his usual chipper self. “What’s your favorite place to be?”

Jaime took his hand off of Bart’s shoulder and brought it to his chin to think.

“Hmm,” Jaime pondered. “I’d have to say the El Paso Municipal Rose Garden. It’s nice and quiet and no villains have ever attacked there, the perfect place to relax. How about you?”

“Mine’s definitely the beach,” Bart answered without thought. “I loved getting away to the remains of Mount Justice and just sitting on the beach hearing the waves roll in.”

“Ok,” Jaime looked over at the clock, getting close to lunch time, at least as far as a speedster was concerned. “We have time for one more question each. What is your favorite holiday?”

“That is a hard one,” Bart thought. “From all the records of the past, I’d have to say Christmas. It always seemed fascinating just to have a day to do nothing but chill-hang with family and friends, eat lots of homemade food, and give gifts to each other.”

“I guess it makes sense that you’ve never had Christmas before,” Jaime mused. “This Christmas will be your first, right?”

“Yeah?” Bart seemed very self-conscious now.

“Then this Christmas I’ll make sure you’re included,” Jaime said. “Either I can head over to you, or you can come to mi casa, or we can meet in the middle.” Jaime’s plan was coming together as he spoke, his eyes looking toward the ceiling.

“Well,” Bart spoke up, gaining Jaime’s attention. “Since this whole secret identity thing is still strange to me, you can come over to Central City. The Garricks and Allens know all about being superheroes.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jaime said and smiled. “As for my answer, my favorite holiday is Labor Day.”

“Dude, what’s Labor Day?” Bart asked with a very confused look on his face.

“A holiday that has something to do with work,” Jaime laughed. “It’s actually got nothing to do with actual Labor Day. In El Paso, the Fiesta de las Flores, takes place over Labor Day weekend. There’s a ton of stuff to do, such as parades, dances, food stands, games, you name it. All of it is Hispanic in nature and all of it is amazing.”

“That sounds so crash!” Bart exclaimed. “Next Labor Day, you’ve got to take me to see it!”

“No problemo,” Jaime said. “Now it’s time for your last question.”

“Hmm,” Bart thought for a bit before answering, and by a bit, it was 2 seconds. “What is your favorite thing to do? You know, not hero related.”

“That one is easy,” Jaime said dismissively, waving his hand in front of him. “I’ve always loved skateboarding. Me and Tye would just spend hours rolling through El Paso, doing tricks and seeing the sights.”

“Have you skateboarded recently?” Bart asked, feeling that same gut twisting feeling he felt earlier whenever someone either got close to Jaime or he seemed close to someone else.

“Not since I got the Scarab,” Jaime admitted. “Plus Tye was one of the kids abducted by the Reach, so he’s been at STAR Labs. What about you? What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“I like making art,” Bart answered. “Doesn’t matter what kind, whether it’s the random pebble art I made earlier with you in the desert, painting, drawing, even LEGOs. I just like being able to make things that other people can enjoy. Too much stuff is gone in the future, so I like to see what I can do to add back to it.”

Jaime realized that Bart was about as pure good as anyone could get. His whole mission was to protect the Earth and that meant protecting Jaime from the Reach. He liked nothing more than sitting and enjoying nature when he could and he wanted to add back into society with art. He enjoyed the simple things such as family, friends, and food and he dreamed of a future where he could get away from it all. Jaime felt selfish by comparison. He wanted to have the Scarab removed, thereby making him no longer a hero. He wanted to go back to a normal life; even his favorite thing to do and holiday was focused on either himself or his culture.

 _It is natural to think of oneself,_ the Scarab said. _Without taking care of yourself, you cannot take care of others._

“Easy for you to say,” Jaime growled. “You need me at my best in order to do what you do.”

“Naturally,” Bart replied. “Keeping you from feeling the mode would be best for everyone.”

“Ok hermano,” Jaime said, refocusing back on Bart. “How about we figure out what we’re supposed to do for the rest of the day?” Jaime stood up and stretched.

“Sure thing Blue,” Bart also stood up, mimicking Jaime’s stretching motion, even though his muscles were already limber.

Jaime and Bart moved out of the bedroom and across the hall to Tim’s room.

****

New York City

April 6, 11:33 EDT

The door to the bridge of the Reach ship next to the United Nations building opened. The Ambassador, Scientist, and Black Beetle turned to see Green Beetle walk onto the bridge.

“Ah, warrior,” the Ambassador said to Green Beetle. “You understand why you’ve been summoned?”

“Indeed,” Green Beetle answered. “I am to gain the trust of Blue Beetle through means of subterfuge and turn his scarab back on mode.”

“I am still concerned with how the scarab was taken off mode,” the Scientist said. “If we don’t address the cause of the crash it could happen again. Even more concerning is how magic was able to…”

“You worry too much Scientist,” the Ambassador cut her off. “Once Blue Beetle comes back on mode, we’ll simply kill anyone capable of using magic when the time is right.”

“Agreed,” Black Beetle said. “Although I would like another go at that woman from the hot springs.”

“In due time,” the Ambassador answered. “For now, we wait until Blue Beetle makes another appearance. Then you’ll both head in.” The Ambassador looked at Green Beetle. “You’ll establish that you are a Martian and help them defeat this warrior,” he gestured to Black Beetle, “then you’ll slowly gain their trust in whatever menial way they see fit.” The Ambassador moved to look out the main window of the spaceship. “The meat of this planet is easy to manipulate and soon it will all belong to the Reach.”

****

Bria’s Manor, Chappaqua, New York

April 6, 2:30 EDT

“Ok, you’re all recovered,” Bria deadpanned to both Jaime and Bart. Bria, Gavin, Tim, Jaime, Bart, Hodgkins, and Sierra were standing in the foyer of Bria’s mansion. “Now can my gaggle of teen boys be reduced back to one?”

“Feel free to visit anytime,” Gavin said and smiled at the other boys. “I actually felt like a normal teenager again.”

“You can’t invite people to my house,” Bria replied.

“Despite the whole injury and near dying thing,” Bart started, “these last few days have been totally crash!”

“I’ve got to agree hermano,” Jaime said to Gavin. “It was nice to actually relax and not die.”

 _Relaxation can be achieved without the use of magic Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said.

“I know that!” Jaime growled to his Scarab. “Magic wasn’t the relaxing part; it was the not dying part.”

 _You should clarify what you are speaking about,_ the Scarab replied.

“If that bug ever needs reset,” Bria said to Jaime. “Let me know, I may have a trick or two up my sleeve.”

Jaime couldn’t help but feel a little threatened as Bria smirked when she offered her “help.” She obviously knew how the Scarab was “cleansed” as she put it, but it either didn’t completely fix it or she was leaving something out.

“You know,” Tim said to Gavin. “There may be a spot for you on the Team. We don’t have a magic person and you are a capable mage.”

“Yes!” Bria exclaimed. “Feel free to take him on a mission whenever you need him. It will give me a chance for some peace and quiet.”

“I take it your meeting with the Justice League didn’t go well?” Gavin asked.

“I have too many ‘indiscretions,’” Bria made air quotes as she talked. “My time spent on earth as a ‘loose cannon’ hasn’t gone unnoticed. I was basically told I would be watched and reviewed at a later date.”

“I guess that’s better than the alternative,” Gavin teased. “A war with the Justice League, while that would be fun to watch, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere nearby.”

“I guess we should be heading out,” Tim said, cutting off what was sure to be an interesting conversation on Bria vs the Justice League.

“See you guys later!” Gavin said.

“Give me a heads up before you come over,” Bria said.

“Adios,” Jaime bid farewell.

“It’s been crash!” Bart shouted and the group of them turned and walked off toward New York City.

****

Taos

April 9, 10:15 MDT

“So,” Bart started hesitantly. “You’re really crash? As in off mode permanently?” Bart still couldn’t believe it, one minute Jaime was complaining about not being in control all the time; the next minute Green Beetle was messing with the Jaime’s Scarab and Jaime was saying he was in complete control.

“Sí hermano,” Jaime replied. “The Scarab is completely silent.” The two of them walked in the desert around Taos, a place where no one would see them strolling and they could talk freely.

“So why didn’t you head home last night?” Bart asked, furrowing his brow.

“Green Beetle’s reboot took a bit longer than anticipated,” Jaime answered. “I swear that I was going to head home when it was done, but then you showed up.” Jaime waved his arms in front of him as he talked.

“So we’re still crash to text every day?” Bart asked hopefully.

“Totally crash!” Jaime replied.

 _What’s going on?_ Jaime asked inside his own head. Jaime felt like a thick sheet was laid over his head, he tried moving his arms to remove it, but found he couldn’t move his body. Jaime blinked and tried to clear his head, he could hear a muffled conversation off in the distance and he began to see a faint yellow glow. He focused his energy at looking at the strange light source and saw himself looking through his own eyes again, except he wasn’t in control of his own body. The feeling of the thick sheet left him; he was trapped inside his own mind. Nausea overtook Jaime, but with no way to alleviate the sensation, he was just forced to watch.

“So,” Bart started.

 _Bart!_ Jaime yelled. _Help!_

 _The Impulse cannot hear your true voice Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said, in a louder and clearer voice than Jaime’s ever heard.

“Any plans for today?” Bart asked as they made their way back towards the Taos STAR Labs center.

 _Please Bart!_ Jaime pleaded. _Know that it’s not me!_

“I just want to go home and catch some Z’s,” the Scarab answered through Jaime’s body. “I honestly didn’t know the reboot would take all night.” The Scarab made Jaime yawn and stretch his arms upward to stretch his shoulder muscles.

 _Scarab please!_ Jaime begged, if he could control his own body, tears would be welling up in his eyes. _Why are you doing this? I thought Green Beetle was supposed to help me!_

 _Ah,_ an unknown male voice resonated inside Jaime’s head. _But the one you call Green Beetle did help. He just helped bring you back on mode._

 _Who is that?_ Jaime asked. The voice sounded familiar, but Jaime couldn’t quite place his finger on who it was.

 _It is the Ambassador of the Reach,_ the Ambassador answered. _And to answer your previous question of the Scarab, he is doing this to maintain our cover. We can’t have any of the meat know that we have you as our puppet or they would most certainly attempt to crash the mode yet again. Your friendship with this Bart Allen will provide the perfect cover, as you have already given him permission to contact you daily._

 _He’ll know something is up,_ Jaime replied defiantly.

 _Will he now?_ The Ambassador asked in a self-confident tone.

 _Analysis complete,_ the Scarab said. _All files relating to the friendship of Jaime Reyes and Bart Allen, aka The Impulse, have been sent to your command ship Ambassador._

 _Gratitude Scarab,_ the Ambassador said. _For now, keep up the friendship. It gives us time to formulate a plan._

“Catch you later Blue!” Bart said and stepped into the zeta tube.

“Impulse, B 23,” a female robotic voice spoke as a pale blue light scanned his body from head to toe.

“See you later hermano!” The Scarab spoke through Jaime.

In a flash of golden light, Bart returned to Central City.

 _Time to take Jaime Reyes home Scarab,_ the Ambassador’s voice spoke.

“Blue Beetle, B 22,” the same female robotic voice spoke, the same pale blue light scanned him from head to toe.

 _Come on!_ Jaime begged. _Notice a difference!_

 _The machine scans your biological signatures,_ the Scarab explained. _Nothing has changed with you in that regard Jaime Reyes. Calm yourself and become a servant to the Reach._

 _Gratitude Scarab,_ the Ambassador said. _You took the words right out of my mouth._

In a flash of golden light Jaime’s body was sent through the zeta tube to El Paso.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to apologize for this chapter taking as long as it did to post. I had just learned of ship weeks not too long ago and committed to writing my other ship that I love, Solangelo. Writing for a ship week is a lot of fun, but it also takes a lot of effort to write 7 stories to have within a week. I will be turning back to this one and will work towards BluePulse. The last section of this chapter takes place immediately after the events of Young Justice Invasion- "The Fix" (season 2, episode 13).


	12. Advice and Churros

El Paso

May 4, 15:00 MDT

Jaime’s phone buzzed in his pocket as he walked home from school. He reached down and pulled it out. He unlocked his phone and looked at the screen, a text from Bart popped up.

Bart: Hey Blue! Schools over now, am I good to come over?

_Like clockwork!_ The Ambassador yelled within Jaime’s head. _Does this child truly intend to communicate with Jaime every day?_

_That is what I promised him hermano,_ Jaime replied.

_This cannot go on forever!_ The Ambassador spat back. _I think it is time that we put an end to this nonsensical charade._ The Ambassador had Jaime’s body reply to the text message.

Jaime: Sorry Bart, I have a ton of schoolwork that needs done. I can’t hang out today.

_Such a tactic may lead to the discovery of our presence Ambassador,_ the Scarab warned.

_Quiet Warrior!_ The Ambassador scolded. _It is time we focused our energy on increasing the public profile of this Blue Beetle. Which we cannot do while this child keeps annoying us._

Jaime’s phone buzzed again.

Bart: No problemo! Any plans for tomorrow?

Jaime: Just trying to keep my grades up. Whatever I don’t get done tonight will have to be done tomorrow.

Bart: Real bummer! I wasn’t sure if you did anything special for Cinco de Mayo?

_What is Cinco de Mayo?_ The Ambassador questioned.

_It’s a Texan holiday,_ Jaime blurted out. He had to think on his feet, so to speak, this may have been his only chance to get an S.O.S. out to Bart. _It celebrates the Battle of the Alamo._

_That does not match up with my database Ambassador,_ the Scarab replied.

_Enough Warrior,_ the Ambassador spat back. _I don’t expect you to have knowledge of Earth holidays with you being off mode for so long._ The Ambassador had Jaime’s body reply to the message.

Jaime: Sorry Bart, nothing special planned to remember the Battle of the Alamo, just schoolwork.

****

Central City

May 4, 16:02 CDT

Bart looked down at his phone and the text he got from Jaime. He thought he heard Mrs. Garrick correctly.

“Mrs. Garrick?” Bart asked from his seat on their couch.

“Yes dear?” Joan replied from the kitchen.

“I thought you said Cinco de Mayo was about Mexican Independence?” Bart asked, furrowing his brow.

“I believe it is,” Joan answered and walked into the living room where Bart and Jay were sitting.

“Jaime just said it was about the Battle of the Alamo,” Bart said confused.

“Nonsense,” Jay said and put down the newspaper he was reading. “The Alamo was at the end of February and ended at the beginning of March.”

“Maybe he just has his dates wrong?” Joan asked.

“Maybe?” Bart pondered.

“I take it he’s busy?” Jay asked, bringing his newspaper back up to read.

“Yeah,” Bart said. “Lots of schoolwork.”

“Speaking of schoolwork…” Joan said, attempting to pry into Bart’s academic life.

“Already done,” Bart said, gesturing to his backpack. “I know better than to chill-hang with friends before my work is done.”

“Good to hear,” Joan said and walked back into the kitchen to work on supper.

****

Central City

May 7, 10:00 CDT

Bart sat on his bed in his room at the Garrick’s. Bart pulled out his phone again and tried to text Jaime. This last week has been odd, while Jaime did answer back pretty quickly, he wouldn’t call Bart or meet up with him.

Bart: Hey Blue! Thought I’d try again to see how you’re doing? It’s been a moded week for schoolwork, huh?

Jaime: Yeah, definitely a bad week for schoolwork. But I’m working through it all.

Bart: Great! So with today being Saturday, you crash if I head over your way? I still owe you a meal.

Jaime: Lo siento Bart. I got a major project due Monday, I got a meeting with some classmates to get things done.

Bart: No problemo. Just let me know if you need anything or find time off in your busy schedule.

Bart groaned and threw his phone onto his pillows in frustration. He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and gripping his hair in frustration. He knew something was up. Ever since Green Beetle did that reboot to Jaime’s Scarab, Jaime has become increasingly distant to Bart. But Jaime still answered his texts, which is what Jaime had promised to do, so it had to still be Jaime. He didn’t know who he could talk to, to make sure. Miss Martian was still missing, abducted by Deathstroke and Tigress, Gavin was at his meeting with the other magical families, he barely knew Zatanna, he didn’t know Dr. Fate, and the Bat Family was off doing a mission. He could feel his eyes stinging as tears welled up. Before any of his emotions could bubble over, there was a knock on his door.

“Yes?” Bart asked through the door. He took a deep breath and sat up straight to compose himself.

“Can I come in?” Wally West’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“Sure thing,” Bart answered. Bart noticed that Wally was spending more time with family members since Artemis’ death at the hands of Aqualad, but Bart didn’t mind. Wally was someone who fell in love with another superhero and managed to get out of the life. Maybe he was someone who could help Bart at least understand what was going on.

The door opened and Wally made his way into Bart’s room.

“Everything alright?” Wally asked, seeing that Bart’s phone was haphazardly lying on his pillows and Bart looked slightly flushed.

Bart looked up at Wally, how could some people be so good at reading other people?

“Yes…no…just a little frustrated is all,” Bart sighed and glanced at his phone.

“Jaime?” Wally asked.

“How on Earth could you have known that?” Bart asked in disbelief.

“That’s actually why I’m here,” Wally said and sat on the bed next to Bart. “Joan’s been kind of worried that you’re not yourself recently. She said that you haven’t been hanging out with Jaime as much either.”

Bart gave Wally a once over. “Listen, I think its crash that Joan is so concerned with my wellbeing and all, but I don’t know how this,” Bart gestured between the two of them, “is going to help.”

“I’m just someone to talk to,” Wally chuckled. “I can’t fix your problems, only you can.”

There was a long moment of silence between them.

“Sorry Wally,” Bart sighed.

“It’s no big deal,” Wally replied and shrugged his shoulders.

“No it is,” Bart answered back. “Here I am complaining about not chill-hanging with my friend and you just lost your girlfriend.”

“Listen Bart,” Wally said and put a hand on Bart’s shoulder. “What happened to Artemis was the job. As much as it sucks, that’s the life we live. What doesn’t help is when something that happens outside the life gets in the way. I know that you’re close with Jaime.” Bart blushed slightly but kept his eyes fixed on Wally’s. “I don’t know exactly how close, but the two of you seemed to hit it off right away. Maybe he does just have a lot of schoolwork, maybe he needs a little bit of space, who knows?”

Bart was confused as to how Wally wasn’t an emotional wreck when it came to Artemis. He just lost the love of his life and now he was going from family member to family member, even Artemis’ mom, making sure everyone else was alright instead of taking care of himself.

“But he promised that we’d get in contact every day,” Bart said, although he was a little embarrassed with how whiny he sounded.

“Has he?” Wally asked and raised an eyebrow.

“Well…yeah,” Bart admitted. “But he doesn’t want to talk on the phone anymore or he’s too busy for me to head over there.”

“Again, maybe he is just busy,” Wally replied.

“But there’s other stuff,” Bart retorted. “He doesn’t use ‘crash’ or ‘mode’ anymore, he got Cinco de Mayo wrong, and he doesn’t call me ‘hermano’ anymore.”

“Ok?” Wally seemed lost as to the point Bart was making.

“Don’t you get it?!” Bart asked indignantly, throwing his arms out in front of him. “Something is wrong! He’s either back on mode, super stressed about something, or…”

“Why don’t you just drop by and see for yourself?” Wally cut him off. “He always made time for you before when you stopped by, right? Maybe a surprise visit can help with his stress.”

“He won’t be mad?” Bart asked. “Especially when he told me he’s busy?”

“Not if you show up with something he likes,” Wally said with a devilish grin.

“Like churros!” Bart blurted out, completely oblivious to any sort of hints that Wally may have been throwing his way.

“Uh, sure,” Wally replied, confused and slightly amused that Bart was still very innocent. “Show up with churros and see what’s up. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Thanks Wally!” Bart said and threw his arms around him in a tight hug. He then moved with super speed, grabbing his phone, throwing his shoes on, and running out the door.

“Be back later!” Bart shouted to Jay and Joan as he ran out of their house and towards El Paso.

Wally walked at a normal human speed out of Bart’s room and into the living room with Jay and Joan.

“Everything work itself out?” Joan asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking at Wally.

“I hope so,” Wally sighed. “I have a feeling that he’s going to be a mess until Jaime opens up again.”

“Ah, to be young again,” Jay said and sipped his cup of coffee.

“Want to stay for lunch Wally?” Joan asked. “We’d love the company.”

“I’d love to stay for lunch,” Wally replied.

****

El Paso

May 7, 10:30 MDT

_Scarab please let me have control,_ Jaime begged again. The Scarab was having Jaime watch the news to see of any local events that needed a hero.

_I do as design parameters dictate,_ the Scarab replied. _The Reach desires our public profile to expand, so we will remain on watch until such an event occurs to take advantage of._

Bart arrived outside the Reyes household, a box of freshly made churros in his hand, complete with dulce de leche dipping sauce. He reached his free hand up and rang the doorbell. The door opened and Jaime’s mother, Bianca, was there to greet Bart.

“Hello Bart,” Bianca said with a warm smile.

“Hello Mrs. Reyes,” Bart replied. “Is Jaime home?”

“Yes he is,” Bianca said. She looked down at the box in Bart’s hands and could smell the churros inside, their sweet cinnamon dough mixed with the chocolate dipping sauce. “Jaime didn’t mention anyone coming over.”

“Jaime just sits in his room all day,” Milagro, Jaime’s younger sister, shouted from the living room. “I think he’s just watching the news. He’s so lame!”

Bart felt a sharp pain in his chest. Had Jaime been lying about schoolwork and just blowing him off? He kept his usual chipper mask on, not showing any signs of hurt.

“This is a surprise Mrs. Reyes,” Bart explained. “He seems so stressed recently, so I just wanted to bring him some churros and talk.”

“That’s kind of you Bart,” Bianca replied. “He’s up in his room; you can head right up there.”

“Thanks Mrs. Reyes!” Bart said and she let him into her house. He walked up the stairs, regardless of how much he wanted to run at super speed, and made his way to Jaime’s door. He could hear the television playing through the door and could tell it was the news. He knocked on the door. Bart could hear someone walking toward the door.

Jaime opened his bedroom door and sort of stared at Bart, a mix of confusion and annoyance shown on his face.

“Hello hair-man-o!” Bart greeted in his usual chipper tone, butchering his Spanish as usual.

_Bart!_ Jaime screamed at the top of his mental lungs, but it was no use, Bart couldn’t hear him.

“I brought some of those churros you talked about and that dipping sauce,” Bart held out his hands to give Jaime the box, which Jaime took. “I figured you must be pretty stressed with all your schoolwork so I’d swing by to give you a break.” Bart’s eyes scanned Jaime’s bedroom from the doorway. The room was immaculate, made bed, no clothing tossed anywhere, and no text books open on his desk, just the television turned onto the local news.

_Bart, please notice this isn’t me!_ Jaime pleaded from within his own mind.

“Uh, gracias,” the Scarab said through Jaime’s body. He looked down at the box of churros in confusion and side stepped to let Bart into his room. Bart made his way over to Jaime’s bed and sat down, keeping his legs over the edge of the bed. “I’m really busy at the moment; I thought I told you that.”

“You can’t be too busy for a few minutes of chill-hanging time,” Bart said, feeling the sting of Jaime’s tone with him, but never showing it. “I figured a quick pick-me-up was in order, I promise to be out of your hair momentarily.” Bart turned his attention to the television. “Whatcha watching?”

“The news,” the Scarab gave as a short answer.

“Is it for school or pleasure?” Bart asked, although he could never understand who watched the news for fun.

“It’s been too long since our last mission,” the Scarab answered. “I’m waiting for another chance to suit up.”

“You want another mission?” Bart asked, curious as to the statement.

“I figured it was time to maybe stop being so covert,” the Scarab said. “I mean, why be heroes if we aren’t allowed to show ourselves a little?”

“I completely agree!” Bart said enthusiastically, throwing his arms out in front of him. “I never understood this whole ‘secret identity’ thing anyway. But wouldn’t the rest of the Team have an issue with that?” Bart lowered his tone as he finished his thought.

“Does that matter?” The Scarab asked. “With the Justice League off world, it’s up to us to take their place.”

“The Justice League is off world?” Bart asked, shocked at the information.

“Uh, yeah,” the Scarab answered. “Remember Bria Reynolds told us that?”

“Oh yeah,” Bart chuckled and made a knocking motion against his head. “Sorry, like I said, my mind moves a mile a minute.”

Jaime sat the box of churros no his desk and pulled his chair out to sit down.

_Aren’t you going to eat a churro?_ Jaime asked the Scarab.

_Negative Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab answered. _My scans of the box show no true nutritional value. It would be a waste to eat such empty calories._

“Not hungry Blue?” Bart asked, failing to hide his disappointment.

“Just had a big breakfast,” the Scarab lied. “Maybe later. Did you want to talk about anything else?”

“Oh,” Bart said and kind of looked around the room. “Not really. I just wanted to surprise you with the churros and help if you were stressed.”

“Well,” the Scarab said and Jaime stood up. He moved to Bart and motioned toward the door. “Consider me no longer stressed, but I am kind of busy. So could I be left alone for now?”

“Sure thing Blue,” Bart said feeling defeated. “I’ll let you watch the news in peace.”

_Bart please!_ Jaime screamed.

Bart got up off of Jaime’s bed and walked slowly out of the room, closing the door behind him. He made his way downstairs and towards the front door. He didn’t attempt to hide the disappointment on his face.

“Leaving already?” Bianca asked from the kitchen as she prepared lunch.

“Yeah Mrs. Reyes,” Bart said as he moved closer to the door.

Bianca made her way out of the kitchen and saw Bart’s face. “Is everything alright?”

“I guess so,” Bart sighed and stopped to face her, still not looking up at her.

“Whatever is going on,” Bianca said soothingly. “I’m sure everything will turn out fine. You are Jaime’s closest amigo. He hasn’t stopped talking about you since you guys met. He’ll come around.” Bianca put a hand on Bart’s shoulder to let him know everything was going to be alright.

“Thanks Mrs. Reyes,” Bart said and looked up at her.

“Next time you come over,” Bianca said. “Make sure you call first, that way I can get a place at the dinner table ready for you.”

“Sure thing Mrs. Reyes,” Bart chuckled. “See you later.”

“Adios Bart,” Bianca said.

Bart made his way back to the zeta tube at an unusually slow pace, moping the entire way. He still felt like something was up. He just had to talk to someone else, someone who could peer into Jaime’s head and make sure that he was still himself. Just then his phone buzzed. He pulled his out and saw that Nightwing had sent him a text.

Nightwing: Need you at the warehouse. New mission.

Bart smiled slightly and looked around. No one was nearby and no cameras appeared to be looking his direction. He took off running at super speed to the zeta tube and headed to help Nightwing.


	13. A Giant and a Cave

**Blüdhaven**

**May 7, 12:00 EDT**

“Alright Team,” Nightwing addressed the three heroes before him. “Robin, Superboy, and Impulse is Alpha Squad. Your mission, to check in on an alleged cloning facility set up on Santa Prisca by LexCorp. This is strictly an intel op. and seeing as the island is also the home of Bane and the drug Venom, I suggest no one start anything while there. Simply let us know if LexCorp has any operations on the island and get back in one piece. Superboy will fly the Bio-Ship in camo mode. Robin is team leader.”

“Uh,” Bart raised his hand.

“Yes Bart?” Nightwing asked.

“Why exactly am I on this mission? Not that it’s not crash to go, but what do we need a speedster for?” Bart asked.

“You can phase through walls and doors,” Nightwing explained. “Any lock that Robin can’t hack; you can bypass. Plus, with moving as fast as you do, you can scout out the island and whatever building you may come across in the blink of an eye.”

“Wouldn’t you want Blue on this mission?” Bart asked innocently. “With his Reach armor, he could probably get all the intel you need himself.”

“True,” Nightwing answered. “But we also know that LexCorp and the Reach are working together, so we don’t know if they’d be able to track him down once he accessed their grid. We also don’t know if Santa Prisca would have any way of scanning for him at a range, whereas the Bio-Ship is organic tech, so they wouldn’t be able to scan for that.”

“Sounds crash fearless leader!” Bart shouted and put his hands on his hips.

“As long as there are no other questions,” Nightwing paused and looked at the group expectantly. No one said anything. “Good, it is roughly a 3-hour flight in the Bio-Ship to Santa Prisca, so make sure you have everything and be ready to head out in an hour. If all goes according to the plan, we should meet back up here by 9 o’clock tonight.”

“As if anything ever goes according to plan,” Conner sighed.

The three boys geared up for the mission ahead, switching to stealth-tech and heading toward the Bio-Ship.

****

**Metropolis**

**May 7, 14:23 EDT**

_Why are we here again?_ Jaime asked. Seeing buildings fly by as he soared through the skyscrapers of Metropolis.

_According to the Reach’s calculations,_ the Scarab explained, _Metropolis is the home of the Superman and with his absence, crime rates will increase._

_What about being covert?_ Jaime reminded the Scarab. _As a Team member, we shouldn’t be out in the open like this._

_Ah,_ the Ambassador chimed in. _That was the purpose you use to fulfill, now you are a Warrior of the Reach. We are going to expand your public profile and gain this world’s trust._

Before the conversation could continue, an explosion rang through the streets below Jaime. A giant woman with red hair and wearing a black and yellow jumpsuit came bursting out of a building named, “Haima Pharmaceuticals.” She had what looked to be a refrigerator in her hand.

“Stop!” The Scarab shouted through Jaime’s voice.

_That’s Giganta!_ Jaime yelled. _She’s one of Wonder Woman’s enemies._

“Ha!” Giganta laughed. She swung her right hand down as if she were swatting a bug. She connected with Blue Beetle and spiked him into the ground, cracking the road and making a little crater that he laid on his back in. In a swift motion, she then stomped down on Blue Beetle with her right foot, further driving him into the road. “Going to have to do better than that!” She then took off running towards the park.

Jaime groaned both internally and externally.

_Warrior!_ The Ambassador shouted. _Follow and apprehend that criminal!_

_Of course, Ambassador_ , the Scarab replied. Blue Beetle stood up and his jetpack burst to life as he took to the air again and followed Giganta. Thankfully, wherever she went, she cleared a path and there were no pedestrians in the way. He caught up to her just as she entered the park. He lowered his shoulder and put more juice into his jetpack, tackling her from behind. She toppled forward and fell to the ground, the fridge rolling from her hand and landing on its side next to a tree.

“You little brat!” Giganta shouted and stood up. “You’re lucky that fridge is locked and the contents are padded.” She swung a fist at Blue Beetle, but this time he was able to dodge it.

“You are under arrest Giganta!” Blue Beetle shouted. He raised his right hand and the Scarab created his sonic cannon. He fired it at Giganta and its high-pitched ringing noise burst forth with its blue rings of energy. The blast hit her in the forehead, causing her to stumble backward slightly.

Giganta steadied herself and bent down, grabbing a tree and ripping it from the ground. She hurled the tree like a projectile at Blue Beetle, causing him to end his sonic attack in order to dodge the tree. She quickly scooped up another tree and threw it at him again. This time, Blue Beetle wasn’t so lucky as he tried to line up another shot. He went crashing to the ground again, this time with a large tree on top of him.

_AHH!_ Jaime screamed as he felt his right leg crack between the tree and a rock on the ground.

_Break in the tibia,_ the Scarab said. _I calculate that our armor can sustain our weight to finish this fight._

_Then finish it!_ The Ambassador commanded.

Blue Beetle pushed the tree of himself and stood up to face Giganta. She had her back turned and was shrinking back to a normal human size as a hover jet uncloaked and lowered a cable to hook up to the fridge.

_Please!_ Jaime begged. _At least fly…my leg!_

_Every fight has a risk of injury child,_ the Ambassador chided. _This fight will be over momentarily._

Blue Beetle turned his left arm into a plasma cannon, while keeping his right arm the sonic cannon. He fired his plasma cannon at the hover jet, causing it to rock midair. He then lined up his sonic cannon at Giganta and fired. The blue rings of energy enveloped her.

Giganta screamed, raising her hands to cover her ears, even though it was too late. The energy lifted her off her feet and sent her hurtling backwards and away from the fridge. She was sent in a heap onto the ground, knocked unconscious from the sonic attack. The jet started retracting its tow cable and recloaked itself, taking off and leaving the fridge behind.

_Can we please go now?_ Jaime pleaded. _I need to get my leg looked at._

News vans came screeching to a halt just outside the park, as well as police cars. Police officers, reporters, camera men, and paramedics came swarming toward Blue Beetle.

_Maybe some time for publicity before we go,_ the Ambassador said. _We aren’t far from your friend, Bria Reynold’s house, so Gavin Cethin can patch up your leg magically._

_That’s for emergencies only!_ Jaime protested.

_Battling a criminal is an emergency,_ the Ambassador spat back.

“Excuse me!” Cat Grant called out to Blue Beetle as she pushed her way through the crowd. “Blue Beetle, can you tell us why you’re in Metropolis?” She held her microphone towards him for his answer.

“Certainly, Cat Grant!” Blue Beetle responded, the Ambassador taking control of Jaime’s voice instead of letting the Scarab do the talking. “I was just passing through the neighborhood and noticed the pharmaceutical robbery taking place, so I decided to step in and take care of it.” He gestured to the police officers putting Giganta into handcuffs and taking her injector gun from her.

_Scarab please get us out of here!_ Jaime implored. Even though he couldn’t control his body, Jaime could feel his leg throbbing from standing on his broken bone.

_The Reach requires us to gain the public’s trust,_ the Scarab replied. _We will stay until the Ambassador is finished._

“Any reason why Superman didn’t come to help?” Cat asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Blue Beetle responded with a smile on his face. “He must be out of town or thought this was beneath him, either way, I am happy to help!”

“Ooh, head that way,” Cat gasped as she saw Giganta coming to. “Thanks for stopping the criminal, but we’d like to interview her now.” Cat made a hasty retreat from Blue Beetle and hustled her way over to Giganta.

_I guess that’s enough of the spotlight for now,_ the Ambassador said in an annoyed tone of voice. _Time to get this warrior to get healed._

Blue Beetle extended his wings and kicked off into the air.

_OW!_ Jaime yelled.

_Quit your complaining child!_ The Ambassador replied. _You will be healed soon enough and with our continued partnership, you will become less likely to get injured again._

Blue Beetle took off with his jet pack towards Bria’s manor.

****

**Santa Prisca**

**May 7, 14:46 ECT**

Alpha Squad was making good time to Santa Prisca, they were still over the ocean, but the Bio-Ship’s computers put the island nation within 20 miles of their current location.

Tim’s wrist mounted communication device chirped. He lifted his left arm and pushed the button to see what was up. A blue holographic display appeared just over his wrist and a news feed played in the middle of the image.

“Blue Beetle just saved Haima Pharmaceuticals from a major loss,” Cat Grant said as she stared into the camera. “The villainess known as Giganta and an unknown associate attempted to steal highly classified hematology work from the research lab located in Metropolis. While Blue Beetle managed to stop the heist, the unknown partner got away in a cloaked jet, leaving Giganta to battle Blue Beetle by herself. Founder and CEO of Haima Pharmaceuticals, Bria Reynolds, had this to say.” The screen changed to show the Haima Pharmaceuticals building with its destroyed wall leading to the street.

“I’m thankful that Blue Beetle could help when he did,” Bria said to the cameras, wearing an uncharacteristic smile on her face and putting on her best grateful voice. She raised a hand over her heart, “why, without his timely help, we would have lost millions of dollars’ worth of research in a matter of moments.” The screen then changed to show Blue Beetle’s interview as well as a segment from Giganta.

“I don’t think Nightwing will be happy about this,” Tim said, pausing the screen and closing the holographic display.

“Why?” Bart asked. “Blue did a good thing, right?”

“He did,” Tim relented, “but he also implied that either Superman wasn’t there or that he didn’t care, which we know wouldn’t be true.”

“Except that we know it is true,” Bart replied. “Superman is off-world.”

“How do you know Superman is off-world?” Conner asked, giving Tim an inquisitive look.

“I didn’t tell him!” Tim quickly defended himself.

“No doy!” Bart shouted. “Bria Reynolds told us, remember?” He gestured toward Tim as if trying to jog his memory.

“I know that!” Tim groaned.

“Wait!” Conner spat out. “The same Bria Reynolds that we just saw on the news?”

Tim took in a deep breath and sighed. “Yes,” he answered. “We learned some stuff about Bria Reynolds about a month ago. She’s not a threat, but she’s a lot more than she lets on to be. I’d be happy to fill you in when we get back to the base.”

“Works for me,” Conner replied. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with our current mission, it doesn’t matter right now.” Conner squinted up at the view port to the ocean. “There!” He pointed with his right hand at the water in the distance.

“Don’t see anything dude,” Bart sighed as he also squinted and looked off in the distance.

The Bio-Ship zoomed in to help Tim and Bart see the approaching island. The sun off to the side made the tree’s shadows on the island seem supernaturally long.

“Thanks girl,” Conner said and pet the controls under his hands.

“Ok,” Tim said leaning forward in his seat. “Drop Impulse there,” he pointed to a spot on the beach. “It’s in between two antiair guns, with the Bio-Ship in camouflage mode, we can drop him off without being targeted. Then he does a quick run around the island and gets us any intel we need to move forward.”

****

**Bria’s Manor, Chappaqua, New York**

**May 7, 14:53 EDT**

Blue Beetle landed in front of Bria’s manor, walked up onto her covered porch and rang the doorbell. The door to the manor opened and Sierra stood in the threshold, which had a long enough porch roof that the sun didn’t shine directly on her.

“Why hello Master Reyes,” Sierra said in a surprised tone. “Miss Reynolds is currently out at Haima Pharmaceuticals, is there something I can help you with?”

“I was wondering if Gavin Cethin was home?” Blue Beetle asked.

“Please come in,” Sierra said and stepped to the side to allow Blue Beetle into the manor. “He’s currently at his meeting with the other mage families, but we can still get in touch with him if needed.” She led him to the dining room and had him sit at the table. “Miss Reynolds is most appreciative that you stopped that heist, certainly keeps her research on track.” Sierra walked into the kitchen and got Blue Beetle a glass of ice water, sitting it on the table in front of him.

“I actually need some healing,” Blue Beetle said.

“Oh,” Sierra said with a start. “I’ll call Master Cethin right away.” Sierra made her way back into the foyer to place her phone call.

_Gracias for finally sitting down!_ Jaime shouted. _This leg pain is unbearable!_

_That is why it is imperative that this unit have control,_ the Scarab replied. _I can support our weight and not give into pain._

_So why isn’t se_ _ñor Ambassador here?_ Jaime asked.

_He is giving an address concerning our work with Haima Pharmaceuticals,_ the Scarab answered.

_I thought he was against superheroes?_ Jaime asked.

_Against the heroes of Earth, yes,_ the Scarab answered. _Against the Warriors of the Reach, no._

The shadows in the dining room began to quiver and writhe, coming together on the opposite side of the table as Blue Beetle. From the shadows rose Gavin and another man. The man next to couldn’t have been older than 18 years old, but he stood almost a foot taller than Gavin. His blonde hair was in stark contrast to Gavin’s black hair, but they both shared blue eyes. He wore a black suitcoat, black slacks, a red button up dress shirt and tie, and black dress shoes. Gavin was even more dressed up than Jaime remembered, with his own black suit, but instead having a black button up dress shirt and tie.

“So, this is the famous Blue Beetle?” the unknown man said and eyed up the armored individual. “We all honestly thought you were lying and just wanted out of the meeting.”

“As much as I hate this meeting,” Gavin responded while rolling his eyes. “I am duty bound to attend.” Gavin looked at Blue Beetle and gave him a once over with his eyes. “I’ll need you to drop the armor if I am going to heal you.”

_I don’t know this person!_ Jaime protested to the Scarab. _What about our secret identity?_

_Immaterial to the matter at hand,_ the Scarab replied. _You need the healing and if this becomes a problem, we can always eliminate this new target._

Blue Beetle retracted his armor to reveal Jaime underneath. Jaime winced internally, as the pressure the armor gave his leg was helping slightly, now that was gone. Gavin could see that Jaime’s jeans were stretched tight over his shin from the swelling happening in his leg.

“I don’t suppose you can pull your pant leg up?” Gavin asked, although he already assumed the answer was a no.

“Negative,” Blue Beetle responded. “With my tibia broken, I can’t pull my pant leg up.”

“Oh,” Gavin said in shock. “You even know which bone is broken. That’s helpful.”

_People can’t tell that about themselves extraterrestre,_ Jaime remarked.

“I can help with the pants problem though,” Gavin said. He closed his eyes and took a breath; he held his hands out over Jaime’s legs. “Mutatoriis,” Gavin spoke as he opened his eyes again to reveal they had gone completely black. Jaime’s jeans were enveloped in shadows as they morphed into a pair of basketball shorts. Gavin knelt and got a closer look at Jaime’s shin, which had ballooned up and was a disgusting shade of purple mixed with yellow. “How did you even stand on this?”

_Believe me hermano,_ Jaime said. _It wasn’t my choice._

“Adrenaline,” Blue Beetle replied.

“Need any help Gavin?” the man asked from over Gavin’s shoulder.

“I should be good Alex,” Gavin absentmindedly answered. “Sorry, I guess I forgot to introduce you two. Jaime this is Alex Aethon, Alex this is Jaime, aka Blue Beetle.” Gavin reached forward and put his right hand on Jaime’s knee, using his left to gently cup his ankle to lift the leg up slightly.

_¡Por Favor!_ Jaime screamed in his mind at the movement of his leg.

Alex stepped beside Gavin and stretched his hand out to shake Blue Beetle’s hand, which he did. “Gotta say I’m impressed by a lot today,” Alex said. “The fact that Gavin knows you, your heroics today, and that you are taking this broken leg like a champ.”

_¿Un campeon?_ Jaime said sarcastically. _If only you knew._

“All in a day’s work,” Blue Beetle responded with a smug little smile.

Alex flinched and pulled out of Blue Beetle’s handshake. “You didn’t tell me that there were two minds in him,” Alex said startled.

_You can hear me?!_ Jaime asked frantically.

“It’s the Scarab,” Gavin said. “It has its own intelligence.” Gavin kept his hand on Jaime’s knee and ankle, taking a moment to concentrate and focus. “Sana,” he said with his eyes black once again. Gavin’s shadow stretching out to meet Jaime’s and heal his leg.

“You can read minds?” Blue Beetle asked. Jaime could feel the Scarab getting ready to deploy his armor and plasma cannon.

“Not exactly,” Alex answered. “My brand of magic is fire based,” he explained while talking with his hands. “Fire is energy, not just destruction, bodies use energy to do everything, down to thoughts, I could just sense a second energy source within your mind. I wouldn’t do anything so intrusive unless I had reason to.”

_Please read my mind!_ Jaime begged. He could feel the Scarab settle down.

“That’s interesting,” Blue Beetle commented.

“There,” Gavin said as he finished up his healing. He stood up from Jaime’s legs and wobbled slightly. His skin was noticeably paler than usual.

“Easy there short stuff,” Alex said with a smirk and caught Gavin by the shoulder. “A lot of big magic today and all.”

“Haha,” Gavin laughed sarcastically but returned the smirk. “I’m actually surprised you were able to detect the Scarab’s thoughts,” Gavin mused while straightening out. “I put a spell up to hide its actions.”

_The Reach reset the Scarab!_ Jaime shouted to Gavin and Alex. _They got rid of the spell!_

“Must be because I was just in the armor,” Blue Beetle offered.

“Possibly,” Gavin mused.

“Vis,” Alex said while still having a hold of Gavin’s shoulder. Alex’s eyes glowed a bright orange color, the same you’d see in a campfire. Gavin began to regain his usual complexion and breathed deeper. The spell ended in a few moments.

“Thanks,” Gavin sighed.

“Not entirely selfless of me,” Alex joked. “You are my ride back to the meeting after all.” He took his hand off Gavin’s shoulder and hit him playfully.

“Did you need anything else Jaime?” Gavin asked with a look of hope in his eyes.

_Gavin help!_ Jaime screamed.

“No,” Blue Beetle responded. “Thank you for the healing.”

“Not a problem,” Gavin returned.

“Time to head back,” Alex said. “I can’t wait to tell everyone I met Blue Beetle!”

“Just keep the whole secret identity a secret,” Gavin reminded him. “That was my brain lapse that let that one out.”

“Not a problem,” Alex retorts. “It’s not like I know him personally anyway.”

“See you later,” Blue Beetle says, gets up, and walks out of the house. Once on the porch, he suits back up in his armor and flies off.

_See Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab gloats. _Not even your magical companions knew you weren’t in control._

_Someone will notice,_ Jaime counters.

_We will see about that,_ the Scarab responds.

****

**Somewhere off the Coast of New Jersey**

**May 7, 20:17 EDT**

“Well that was a colossal waste of time,” Conner sighs while flying the Bio-Ship back to Blüdhaven. “There was a construction project going on, just not a cloning facility.”

“Just a big dumb cave!” Bart interjected. “There wasn’t even anything crash about it.” Bart threw his hands out in front of himself to emphasize his point.

“Besides the doors that can close people in and the ceiling that opens up,” Tim refuted. “Looks like a new meeting place.”

“But there’s no tv,” Bart argued, “no gaming system, I didn’t even see an outlet to plug anything into.”

Neither Tim nor Conner felt like fighting Bart on this, so they sat in comfortable silence for a little while. Bart pulled out his phone, opened his text messages to Jaime, and began typing away.

Bart: Awesome job with Giganta! You totally crashed her mode! My mission wasn’t as nearly crash as yours.

Bart was surprised to feel his phone buzz back quickly with a response.

Jaime: Giganta was nothing. What mission were you on?

Bart: What do you mean nothing?! You were stomped on and took a tree to the face! Nightwing was having us to some recon on Santa Prisca.

Jaime: I only suffered from a minor injury, nothing Gavin couldn’t heal. Find out anything on Santa Prisca?

Bart: What injury?

Jaime: Just a broken tibia, again nothing major. So, Santa Prisca?

Bart was happy that Jaime was finally talking to him again, but he sounded strange. Nightwing usually told everyone about the missions whenever they got together. Plus, a broken bone isn’t a minor injury for someone who doesn’t have a super metabolism.

“Hey guys,” Bart broke the silence in the Bio-Ship. “I have a quick question.”

“Shoot,” Tim responded.

“Are we allowed to talk about the mission with other teammates?” Bart asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Tim mused. “They’re going to learn about it at the next meeting anyway. Why?”

“I’m trying to learn what’s allowed and isn’t allowed,” Bart replied. “Jaime was asking how the mission went, after he told me he broke his leg in his fight with that giant lady.”

“So, he’ll be out of commission for a while,” Conner said.

“No,” Bart said. “He went to Gavin, so he’s all crash now.”

“I thought Gavin was an emergency only thing?” Tim asked.

“He is,” Bart thought aloud. “Or at least he’s supposed to be.”

“Isn’t he also at that family meeting now?” Tim asked.

“No idea ah-me-go,” Bart butchered his Spanish again.

“I assume I’ll get told what all of this means when we get back?” Conner asked.

“Sure thing,” Bart said with a wide smile on his face. Bart looked back down at his phone and began typing again.

Bart: Nightwing thought that LexCorp was doing something on Santa Prisca that involved cloning. It turns out it was just a construction project for a big dumb cave.

Jaime: Thanks.

Bart: Need any help with a newly healed leg? Maybe another trip to a hot spring? Or just a day to chill-hang?

Jaime: No, the leg’s all better. I also don’t want to fill up my free days just yet, going to keep an eye on Metropolis with Superman gone. Someone’s got to keep the place safe and not be a galactic criminal.

Bart pouted and put his phone away, he took a breath and put on a smile. The Bio-Ship landed back in Blüdhaven a little while later and after their debriefing, Conner caught up to Bart before he left.

“Got a second for a cup of coffee?” Conner asked.

“Sure thing SB!” Bart said with his usually chipper attitude. “Let me just text the Garricks to let them know.” He sent a message to the Garricks and headed out with Conner to a little coffee shop.

“Two medium black coffees Anne,” Conner ordered from the woman at the register. He looked over and saw Bart eyeing up a blueberry muffin in the display case. “And one blueberry muffin,” he chuckled.

“Sure thing Conner,” Anne chuckled back while watching the child-like delight in Bart’s face. Conner paid for their things.

In a matter of moments, they each had a coffee and Bart had a blueberry muffin, they took a seat next to the windows. Conner seemed to drink his coffee black, but Bart put about five packets of sugar and two creamers in his coffee, and somehow still managed to make a face every time he sipped at his drink.

“Don’t like coffee?” Conner asked.

“I wasn’t sure,” Bart replied. “I figured I’d try some, but it doesn’t seem to matter how much sugar or creamer I put in, it’s still bitter.”

“That’s coffee for you,” Conner chuckled. “Did you want something else?”

“No, no,” Bart answered quickly. “It’s crash that you bought this for me to begin with, I’ll get through it.”

“So,” Conner started, watching Bart slowly pick his muffin apart, which is very off for a speedster. “What’s on your mind?”

Bart raised an eyebrow and sort of stared at Conner in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Conner stated very matter-of-factly. “You haven’t been as talkative lately, you keep looking at your phone, and if someone mentions Jaime your heart rate increases. Are you two dating?”

Bart stared at Conner again, this time in stunned silence. A blush crept onto his face, turning his cheeks red. “No! We aren’t dating,” he shouted.

Conner smirked and sipped his coffee, “you know I can hear your heart rate increase, right?”

“Dude this is so not crash!” Bart said. “We aren’t dating,” he said calming himself down. “I’m actually worried that he isn’t himself right now.” Bart thought for a second. “Hey, with your super hearing, can you hear thoughts?”

“No,” Conner said plainly, his smirk wiping off his face. “I don’t have any telepathic ability.”

“But have you noticed anything strange with Jaime recently?” Bart asked desperately.

“His heart rate is pretty normal,” Conner mused. “He also hasn’t talked to the Scarab in a while, but I thought he said it was made completely silent?”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Bart explained. “Ever since his Scarab has been ‘fixed’ he doesn’t want to chill-hang anymore, his sister says he just watches the news all day, and he didn’t even eat any churros!”

“You had me until the last one,” Conner said after a few seconds of catching his thoughts.

“They’re his favorite food!” Bart replied. “I brought him some today and he didn’t eat any of them!”

“Maybe he wasn’t hungry?” Conner shrugged his shoulders, not sure how to address this issue.

“You sound like Wally!” Bart groaned. “He thinks that this whole thing will just blow over.”

“Maybe it will,” Conner offered. “Or maybe you’re onto something.”

“You think so?” Bart asked hopefully.

“You came back on a mission, right?” Conner asked and Bart nodded. “Maybe Green Beetle is the thing that gets Jaime back on mode, but the only way to be sure would be to get a telepath or devise a way to know the Scarab was online again.”

“Any thoughts on that?” Bart asked, feeling his hope flake away like the crumbly topping of his half-eaten muffin.

“I can ask Nightwing to make a new mission,” Conner said. “This time we can invite Gavin, hopefully his meeting isn’t so important it can’t be paused for one night. We can see if Gavin can read Jaime’s mind.” That last sentence left Conner with a bitter taste in his mouth.

“That would be so crash!” Bart shouted with renewed vigor, causing other patrons to look in their direction.

“I’ll talk to Nightwing in the morning,” Conner said while lowering his voice to keep other people from eavesdropping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations  
> Extraterrestre- Alien  
> Un campeon- A champ
> 
> Latin Translations  
> Mutatoriis- Change of Clothing  
> Vis- Energy/Power


	14. No Laughing Matter

**Blüdhaven**

**May 8, 09:30 EDT**

“I told you!” Bart yelled at Nightwing while holding up his phone with his text messages to Jaime opened, as if he was showing him proof. “Blue isn’t himself anymore!”

“Just stay traught Bart,” Nightwing sighed as he nursed his third cup of coffee that morning. The new warehouse was not big enough to adequately get away from the loud youth and he wasn’t awake enough to deal with him.

“Just give Nightwing a chance to wake up Bart,” Conner said in an even tone. Even though no one else was in the warehouse, being a Saturday and all, Conner’s super hearing was a bit sensitive to the yelling.

“But look!” Bart shoved his phone toward Nightwing.

Nightwing took the phone and looked back over the texts between Jaime and Bart. “Looks like he’s pretty busy,” Nightwing mused.

“Too busy,” Bart complained, throwing his arms out as he talked.

“He is a typical high schooler,” Nightwing countered. “It’s not uncommon to have a rough patch of schoolwork, plus being a superhero doesn’t help.”

“But I’m telling you something’s wrong!” Bart shouted again. “He’s got to be back on mode!”

“Don’t you think if he was back on mode that the Reach would have attacked us directly?” Nightwing asked.

Bart groaned and turned his back to Nightwing in order to walk away.

“One second Bart,” Conner said. “Nightwing, just look back through the messages. Specifically go back to April 9th.”

Nightwing raised an eyebrow at Conner but complied with his friend’s request. “It looks like every other text,” Nightwing said. “Albeit, he’s a little more talkative before the 9th.”

“See!” Bart said incredulously, turning back towards Nightwing.

“I mean,” Nightwing relented, “I can see your point, but also know that April and May are the last months of school before summer, so final projects are going to be due.” Nightwing turned his gaze towards Conner. “Do you think this is something that requires a closer look?”

“I do,” Conner said and gave Bart a comforting look. He turned back to Nightwing, “as much as invading Jaime’s mind is something I wouldn’t usually go for, Bart did come back with a mission. We didn’t know that Lex had any hidden commands in my head until he used them, so maybe Green Beetle did do something to Blue. Without Megan, Zatanna, or Dr. Fate, we have to ask Gavin to read his mind, which means a mission.”

“Fine,” Nightwing sighed.

“Crash!” Bart yelled, throwing his arms up in triumph.

“But there are a few things to go over,” Nightwing interrupted Bart’s celebration.

“What would those be?” Bart asked, dropping his tone to a normal volume.

“First, I’ll look for a mission where there isn’t a whole lot of actual danger,” Nightwing explained. “If Blue did turn against us, I don’t want things to go south in an instant. Second, I’ll either be sending Robin or Superboy with you. You are too ‘impulsive,’” Nightwing chuckled at his own pun, “to be Team leader, Gavin isn’t a Team member yet, and I don’t want a potential turncoat as the leader. Third and finally, we have to see if Gavin is even available for a mission. Last Robin told me; he was at a meeting of sorts. Sound fair?”

“Totally crash,” Bart agreed. “Thanks so much!” Bart surged forward at superspeed and hugged Nightwing then Conner, before grabbing his phone and returning to his original spot. “You’ll see, and then we can get Blue back to normal. Text me when you have everything together.” Bart took off at his superspeed and headed home to the Garricks.

“You really think Blue’s turned?” Nightwing asked Conner when they were alone.

“I honestly don’t know,” Conner sighed and walked over to the coat rack to put his jacket on. “But I think that this is going to help Bart regain his focus.”

“I still can’t believe you’re suggesting a mind read,” Nightwing said.

Conner gave him a death glare. “I’m not happy with the idea of invading anyone’s mind, but I can’t honestly think of a way to confirm or deny Bart’s suspicion without it. If it turns out to be false, I’ll tell Blue it was my idea and let him hate me for it. If it turns out to be true, I’ll still tell him I suggested it, but I’ll give him the time he needs to recover from the experience.” Conner slipped his coat on and headed to the door.

“Thanks for helping out with everything SB,” Nightwing said with all the sincerity he could muster.

“It’s my job,” Conner sighed back. “I don’t like being kept in the dark, so I’m not going to keep anyone else in the dark. These new kids need someone looking out for them, not just a leader giving them orders.” Conner opened the door to the outside. “Just remember that next time.” Conner closed the door and went to his preferred coffee shop, leaving Nightwing to contemplate how he was leading the Team.

****

**Blüdhaven**

**May 10, 19:27 EDT**

“Ok Team,” Nightwing addressed the group in front of him. “You guys are Alpha Squad. There’s an increase in illegal arms deals in Gotham. I’m guessing the bad guys have been noticing Batman’s absence, even with all our efforts to make it appear otherwise. Robin is Team leader, as he knows the terrain. Blue is going to scan for large caches of weapons. Impulse, your job is to keep those trucks from pulling out with the goods. Gavin, seeing as this is your first mission with us, fill in where you see fit. We don’t have a good grip on your abilities yet, but the goal is to keep the guns from being used.”

“Why didn’t you use his code name?” Bart interrupted.

“What’s his code name again?” Nightwing asked, slightly annoyed at the interruption.

“Night Master,” Bart said with a big smile on his face. “At least that’s what it is in the future.”

“Ok…” Nightwing groaned. “Night Master, make sure none of the weapons get out. Any other questions?”

“Are all super suits form fitting?” Gavin asked as he kept fidgeting with his new gear. He was dressed entirely in a black Under Armour style suit, complete with a hooded cloak, fingerless gloves, a domino mask, and pouches on his belt for spell components.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Tim chuckled, causing Bart and Nightwing to also chuckle. “You get used to it.”

“Anyone we should be looking out for?” Blue Beetle asked in a serious tone.

“No,” Nightwing answered. “All the big players are in either Arkham or Belle Reve, so these are new players trying to make a name for themselves.”

_So, no big publicity stunts this time,_ Jaime said sarcastically to the Scarab. _Still good with the mission?_

_Learning more about the criminal underworld is still invaluable Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab responded. _This outing will still prove immeasurably informative._

“Anything else?” Nightwing asked and waited. No one brought up another question. “Good, then you’re good to go.”

“Ok NM,” Tim addressed Gavin. “Take us to our rooftop perch near the warehouse district.”

Gavin took a breath. “Nos movent tectis,” his eyes turning black as he spoke. Their shadows stretched out towards each other and made a pool of darkness beneath them, they slowly sank into the shadows and vanished from the hideout.

****

**Gotham**

**May 10, 21:00 EDT**

Alpha Squad moved to a warehouse in the shadows.

“Ok Blue,” Tim whispered. “Scan it.”

Blue Beetle extended his arm and changed it to his scanner. “Large weapon cache identified,” he said.

“Finally!” Bart whisper shouted. “That’s the sixth warehouse we’ve scanned.”

“Any people inside?” Tim asked.

Blue Beetle scanned a little bit longer, “yes, there are 23 people inside. They seem clustered together.”

“Ok NM,” Tim changed his focus to Gavin. “Fly up to the windows and see what’s up.”

“You got it,” Gavin whispered. “Lateo,” he said and simply vanished from sight.

“So Blue,” Bart whispered. “Any plans this week? I still owe you a meal.”

“Not now, ok?” Blue Beetle answered and looked at Bart.

_Ese, why do you have to do that?_ Jaime asked, seeing the hurt come across Bart’s face. It pained Jaime that he was causing that disappointment in Bart, but there was nothing he could do about it.

_The Impulse must know when to talk about such things,_ the Scarab responded. _A mission is not the time for idle talk._

_Agreed,_ the Ambassador joined in. _Besides, he’s too much of an annoyance. Better to have him feel the cold harsh world now than later._

“Videtur,” Gavin spoke from nowhere and suddenly reappeared next to the group.

“What’s up?” Tim asked.

“It’s strange,” Gavin said. “A group of people are tied up, while a group of people in purple suits are standing around them. It’s like they’re waiting for something.”

“Or someone,” Tim gulped. “Are you sure they were wearing purple suits?”

“Obtentus,” Gavin said, the shadows enveloped him, and he took the appearance of one of the men in purple suits. The suit looked a little worse for wear, with a faded green undershirt, but he definitely had a thuggish appearance, complete with an AR-15 assault rifle.

“That’s not good,” Tim said with worry in his voice.

“You know these people?” Gavin asked as he shrugged off his illusion and looked like himself again.

“They’re Joker’s goons,” Tim said, his face pale.

_This is most opportunistic indeed,_ the Ambassador said gleefully. _First, we protect Superman’s city from one of Wonder Woman’s rivals, now we can protect Gotham from Batman’s biggest rival._

“So, what do you want us to do leader?” Bart asked.

“You didn’t see the Joker or Harley Quinn?” Tim asked Gavin.

“No,” Gavin replied. “Just his thugs.”

“Ok,” Tim turned to face the whole group. “Then we do what we came to do. We get those guns off the street. Only now we do so before whoever they are waiting for shows up. Let the police sort out who is part of Joker’s gang and who is an arms dealer. Sound good?”

Alpha Squad nodded in response.

“Ok then,” Tim explained, “Blue, take out the guards. Impulse, make sure the trucks don’t leave. NM, make sure to get the hostages out of the building. I’ll see if anyone has any sort of schedule on their phones or a computer.”

“Sounds good,” Bart replied with a smile.

Alpha Squad made their way quietly to a side entrance of the warehouse.

_I do not comprehend why we need to be stealthy,_ the Ambassador complained. _We are breaking up an illegal operation, surely that is not against the law._

_Vigilantly justice is against the law,_ Jaime deadpanned. _That’s why we’ve always been a covert unit. That and we didn’t want any big villains coming after us right away, with school and all._

_It simply makes no sense to me,_ the Ambassador explained. _Your law enforcement so ineffectual that the system requires superheroes, but it condemns those same heroes for doing what needs to be done._

_If I had an answer to that question, there probably wouldn’t be superheroes,_ Jaime answered.

_Based on calculations,_ the Scarab interjected. _The humans of this world tend toward chaos, so corruption and self-interest take precedent over the collective community. The law enforcement that wishes crime to truly stop support superheroes, it is the ones who wish to profit off of crime that take issue with vigilantism._

_Your race is truly a flawed one,_ the Ambassador spat.

_Says the guy who is enslaving someone,_ Jaime retorted.

Blue Beetle raised his right hand and made a plasma cannon. The other members of Alpha Squad stepped back and behind Blue. He aimed his cannon at the door and fired, blasting it off the hinges and sending it skidding across the floor.

The Joker goons, all eight of them, shouted and pointed guns at Blue Beetle, opening fire on him. The bullets simply ricocheted off his armor and cascaded through the warehouse.

_Time to show this pathetic meat what Reach technology can do,_ the Ambassador yawned. Blue Beetle walked slowly into the room toward the goons. His plasma cannon shifting into the sonic cannon. He aimed his cannon at the armed thugs but paid no attention to aim away from the thugs tied up in a group on the floor, and he fired. Light blue rings of energy shot from the sonic cannon and enveloped the criminals in the room, causing Joker’s goons to drop their guns and clutch their ears before collapsing into unconsciousness. The thugs who were tied up beforehand shouted against the pain, but also passed out.

“Woah,” Gavin said breathlessly as he looked into the room. “I think you had that cannon’s setting a little too wide. You knocked out the hostages.”

“They were also criminals,” Blue Beetle replied. “Besides, my sonic cannon is non-lethal.” His hand morphed back into his standard armored hand.

Bart gave Gavin a concerned look and sort of gestured his head in the direction of Blue, trying to ask him to read his mind.

Gavin shrugged and gestured to the area, there was no distraction anymore, so any spell he cast could be heard by Blue.

Just then, the large garage door opened at the front of the warehouse and a car’s headlights shone in.

“I just hope those witless grunts got the party together before we got here,” the Joker growled at Harley behind him as he saw the scene before him. His suit the same purple and green color scheme as his goons, but better taken care of. He also had a green flower on his lapel.

“We didn’t order sidekicks, did we Puddin’?” Harley asked as she saw the same thing Joker saw, a warehouse full of unconscious minions and hostages. She was wearing her red and black jesters’ outfit, the newer one that showed more skin, but her hair was done in the pigtails instead of in the hat.

Joker laughed manically, grabbing his sides and nearly doubled over.

“This isn’t good,” Tim whispered to Alpha Squad.

_What a perfect opportunity,_ the Ambassador sighed.

“I guess I should thank you all,” Joker managed to say once he calmed down. “You rid me of more useless buffoons.” Joker walked over toward Blue Beetle, making no motions toward pulling a weapon. He stuck his hand out in order to shake Blue’s hand. “Put her there son,” he said with a wide smile.

_This will be simpler than anticipated,_ the Ambassador gloated.

“Blue don’t!” Tim shouted.

Blue Beetle reached up and shook Joker’s hand. The moment their palms touched, what felt like a bolt of electricity coursed through Blue’s body.

_AHH!_ Jaime screamed.

_Not compatible!_ The Scarab screamed.

_NO!_ The Ambassador shouted as his screens were temporarily knocked off by the surge of electricity.

Joker simply cackled manically again, “guess he hasn’t seen one of my shows before.” Joker let go of Blue’s hand and he fell to the floor with a clang as his armor hit the concrete. “Pumpkin,” he called back to Harley. “Mind taking care of the rest for me? I have some business with the competition.”

“Not a problem Mr. J,” Harley perked up and grabbed her large mallet from the car. She turned to face Alpha Squad while Joker began walking towards the hostages.

“Just wait until she feels the mode,” Bart said with a smile and ran at Harley. Harley swung her mallet perpendicular to the ground, aiming for Bart’s head. “Limbo time!” Bart leaned back, ready to move under the weapon, but something hit him solidly on the chin. He was sent flying back and collided with a barrel. He groaned in pain as the barrel fell on its side and started leaking gasoline. He fell in a heap next to the barrel.

“That’s the problem with you speedsters,” Harley commented as she slung her mallet on her shoulder. The mallet had extended to widen its surface area and was now compressing back to its normal size. “You always think in straight lines, can’t change direction fast enough.” Harley looked between Tim and Gavin. “So, who’s next, Birdbrain or the Goth?”

“Keep the Joker from hurting anyone!” Tim shouted as he pulled out his staff and charged Harley Quinn.

“I was hoping it’d be you!” Harley squealed as she ran to meet Tim, swinging her mallet wildly.

“Nocere!” Gavin shouted and raised his hand at Joker. A black bolt of energy shot from his hand and flew toward Joker. Joker ducked and the bolt slammed into another of the garage doors at the front of the warehouse.

“Now now,” Joker remarked as he stood back up. “That’s no way to treat your elders.” He gave Gavin a devilish grin. “I don’t know exactly who you are, but I don’t mind a tussle with a magic brat. Let’s see if your spells can keep up with me.” Joker reached into his jacket and pulled out a grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it at Gavin.

“Quae!” Gavin shouted and a globe of darkness formed around the grenade. When it exploded, a faint yellow light could be seen in the globe as well as a solid thudding sound.

Bart shook himself awake. He sat up and looked around the warehouse, Tim was locked in combat with Harley Quinn and Gavin was fighting Joker. Jaime was laying on the ground behind everyone. Bart stood up and moved with superspeed over to Jaime.

“Come on Blue,” he said with urgency as he grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “We could use some heavy fire power right now.”

“What’s happening, ese?” Jaime groaned as he blinked his eyes open. He looked up and saw Bart’s face above his and he heard the sound of combat around him.

“Welcome back!” Bart felt his eyes stinging with tears. He was certain that who he was talking to was Jaime and not the Scarab. There was just something about the way he talked that he knew it was Jaime. Bart pulled Jaime up into a tight hug.

“Ow!” Jaime complained but didn’t pull away from the embrace. The situation just dawned on him, he was in control of himself, but he didn’t know for how long. Joker’s joy buzzer must have sent enough electricity through his body to short circuit the Scarab. “Listen hermano,” Jaime pulled out of the hug and held onto Bart’s shoulders, maintaining eye contact. “Bart, please…”

_Scarab rebooting,_ the Scarab chimed to life in Jaime’s head.

Jaime felt as he lost control of his body again. _Wait!_ Jaime screamed, but it was too late, his body was no longer his. He was pushed back to the passenger’s seat once again.

_Troublesome Earthlings!_ The Ambassador shouted once he was back in control of Jaime. _Time to end this!_ With the Scarab back on mode, the Ambassador now could see Bart kneeling above him.

“Get out of the way!” Blue Beetle commanded as he pushed Bart by the shoulders and stood up. His right hand morphed into the staple gun.

“Ow!” Bart stuttered as he landed on his butt. Jaime’s voice changed back to his distant and driven tone. He quickly lifted his visor and wiped the tears from his eyes before also standing up.

Harley Quinn saw Blue Beetle and Impulse ready to rejoin the fight, keeping Robin busy all the while. Blue aimed his staple gun at Harley and fired. Harley jumped out of the way, but managed to position herself between Robin and Blue, so when she jumped, Robin was hit with the staple and pinned against a garage door.

“Nice shot metal head!” Harley taunted Blue.

Tim groaned as he was pushed back into the garage door. His head snapped back and bounced off the metal door, knocking him unconscious as he slumped against the blue staple. His staff fell from his hands and rolled toward Harley.

“Ooh!” Harley leaned down and picked up the staff. “New toy!” She looked over at Joker, who was still fighting Gavin. “Catch Mr. J!” She yelled as she threw the staff to Joker.

“Ooh!” Joker exclaimed as he caught the staff. “Wonderful Harley! Now let’s see what this baby can do.” Joker took the staff and held it with surprising proficiency. He pushed the central buttons, and both ends cracked to life with electricity. Joker took a second to look around the warehouse, his goons were still knocked out and him and Harley were outnumbered. “On second thought,” Joker said with a wicked smile. “Maybe we should leave while we can.”

“You sure Puddin’?” Harley asked with surprise. “These kids don’t seem to know what they’re doing.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be fighting?” Bart asked in disbelief.

“You kids nowadays!” Joker teased. “Bats always loved my banter, it’s part of my charm.” Joker turned slightly to aim his green flower on his lapel at Gavin and it shot a yellowish liquid from it.

“Contego!” Gavin said and his shadow became a shield for him, blocking the acid spray.

Joker saw that the gasoline from the barrel had reached the hostages and cackled manically as he threw the electrified staff at the barrel. It sent a spark at the gas and lit it up, casting the warehouse in orange glow.

“Toodles children!” Joker shouted as he and Harley ran for his car, both laughing as they did.

“I got Robin!” Bart yelled and ran for Tim.

“I got everyone here!” Gavin yelled and turned to focus on the large group of unconscious people, Joker’s goons included.

_We can not allow their escape!_ The Ambassador yelled to the Scarab.

_Pursuing target,_ the Scarab responded.

“Joker’s mine!” Blue yelled and ran after the duo. His staple gun morphing back to his hand.

“Moventur foras,” Gavin said, his eyes turning black and the shadows under the unconscious people writhing and began enveloping them.

“A persistent little bug, aren’t you?” Joker remarked as he glanced back and saw Blue chasing them. He reached in his jacket and pulled out a canister, pulling the pin and throwing it over his shoulder at Blue. Blue swatted the canister aside, knocking it to the ground next to Gavin. Joker and Harley jumped in their car and sped off into Gotham. Blue powered up his jetpack and took off after them.

Bart grabbed hold of the blue staple and vibrated his hands at superspeed. The metal staple cracked and fell apart in his hands. Bart quickly grabbed Tim and kept him standing.

“What’s going on?” Tim groaned as Bart helped him walk out of the warehouse.

“Battle got a little moded is all,” Bart explained. When they made it outside, the shadows moved about on their own and all the unconscious people from the warehouse appeared outside next to Tim and Bart. “Looks like NM got them all out. Totally crash!”

“Where is NM and Blue?” Tim asked. Just as the question passed his lips, a strange hissing sound came from the warehouse. Thick green smoke came spilling out from the open door and moved towards them.

“Hold onto that question,” Bart said and helped Tim get into the kneeling position. He then ran towards the smoke at superspeed and ran in a circle, making a mini tornado. The wind sucked up the gas and dispersed it into the air, rendering whatever it was inert. He then ran back to Tim. “Blue went after Joker and Harley and NM…” Bart looked around and didn’t see Gavin anywhere.

The two of them suddenly heard laughter coming from the warehouse. They turned to see Gavin step out of the open garage door, his face plastered with a grin far too wide to be normal. His eyes were also forced open as far as they could go as tears began to flow from them. The forced laughter was not something to be taken lightly either, as it sounded like it was coming from a place of pain and anguish. Gavin stumbled toward Bart and Tim, clutching his sides, after a few steps, he fell to the ground, still laughing.

“Joker Venom!” Tim yelled as he forced himself up and ran to Gavin. He pulled out what looked like an EpiPen from his utility belt and jabbed it into Gavin’s thigh. Gavin’s laughing eventually slowed and his breathing became normal, but the venom was still working its way through his system. Tim reached up and tapped his earpiece. “Nightwing, come in.”

“Yes Alpha?” Nightwing answered, the message coming through all of their earpieces.

“Joker and Harley appeared at the warehouse,” Tim explained. “NM was hit with Joker Venom. I need immediate assistance.”

“On the way!” Nightwing responded and the line went silent.

“What can I do?” Bart asked, feeling helpless.

Tim handed him a handful of plastic restraints. “Make sure none of them get away.”

Bart nodded as he moved to bind everyone’s hands and feet. The sound of sirens in the distance growing closer by the second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Latin Translations
> 
> Nos movent tectis- Move us to the rooftop  
> Lateo- Disappear  
> Videtur- Appear  
> Obtentus- Disguise  
> Nocere- Harm  
> Quae- Contain  
> Moventur foras- Move outside


	15. Aftermath

**Wayne Manor, Gotham**

**May 10, 23:42 EDT**

“What happened?” Nightwing asked with a stern yet concerned tone of voice.

Nightwing, Tim, Bart, and Alfred Pennyworth were in a darkened bedroom, the only light coming from a bedside lamp that cast eerie shadows over Gavin’s still smiling face. Alfred moved to put more eyedrops into Gavin’s eyes, until the Joker Venom worked its way through his system, the smile and opened eyes were a permanent fixture.

“Gavin informed us that Joker’s goons were the ones in the warehouse,” Tim explained while holding an ice pack up to the back of his head. “I was the one who said the mission was still good to go, as long as we moved fast enough before anyone else showed up. Blue took out the goons and we were ready to apprehend them all when Joker and Harley showed up. Joker shook Blue’s hand…”

“He actually fell for that?” Nightwing interrupted.

“Told you it isn’t Blue!” Bart shouted incredulously. This earned a glare from Nightwing.

“Master Allen,” Alfred interjected, casting a raised eyebrow toward the young speedster.

“Sorry Alfred,” Bart whispered back. He looked over at Gavin, it was hard to believe that anyone could be resting while the venom was still working its way out of their system.

“I tried to warn him,” Tim said with a slight whine in his voice. He cleared his throat and recomposed himself. “I’m guessing with the distance between El Paso and Gotham that Blue didn’t know all of Joker’s tricks. Anyway, Joker’s joy buzzer knocked Blue out and then we battled the two of them. Harley managed to trick Blue into hitting me with one of his staples. I came to when Bart freed me, and we were evacuating the warehouse. Gavin was still in the warehouse when the Joker Venom canister went off.”

“Did he at least read Blue’s mind?” Nightwing asked.

“Not that I’m aware off,” Tim replied.

“I’m telling you,” Bart said with frustration. “That buzzer thing crashed the Scarab’s mode; Blue was himself for a little bit. He was going to ask me something.” Bart flailed his arms around as he talked, showing his clear frustration with no one understanding what he saw.

“Bart!” Nightwing snapped. “Maybe you need to talk to someone about this. Possibly Black Canary or Superboy?”

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a loud banging coming from the front door.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Alfred said and applied one more round of eyedrops into Gavin’s eyes before leaving to answer the door.

“That has to be Bria,” Nightwing sighed. “She’s going to be livid with Gavin’s condition.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

The door opened and Alfred stepped back into the room, taking his spot next to Gavin’s bed again. Bria followed behind him, looking closely and carefully at the young mage.

“Bria…” Nightwing started.

He couldn’t get another word out. Bria moved with a supernatural speed, one that only Bart could see and understand. While it wasn’t nearly as fast as he could go, it was certainly several times faster than your normal person. Bria grabbed Nightwing by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“I don’t even want to hear you speak,” Bria seethed at Nightwing. “‘One mission’ is what you told me. ‘Just a mind reading and arms dealers, minimal danger.’” Bria squeezed Nightwing’s throat slightly, earning a strained sound from him. “I’m taking him back to my place and…”

“Sorry ma’am, but he’s not going anywhere,” Alfred interrupted her.

Everyone in the room stopped and looked towards Alfred, even Nightwing tried to do so.

“Excuse me?!” Bria asked through gritted teeth.

“If you’d be so kind as to put Master Grayson down, I’d happily explain,” Alfred said with an even tone of voice.

Bria never broke eye contact with Alfred, but she did slowly lower Nightwing back to the floor and let go of his throat. Nightwing coughed and gasped, getting use to breathing again.

“Thank you,” Alfred started, “how much experience do you have with Joker Venom?”

“None,” Bria answered, as rage still lined her words.

“I, unfortunately, have too much experience,” Alfred said with a bit more force than before. “Master Cethin will make a full recovery thanks to Master Drake giving him the antidote as quickly as he did. But he needs constant supervision until he is better and someone who knows what to look for in case it goes south. While I don’t doubt you could pay for a staff of well-trained medical professionals, only this household has the necessary medication and skill to combat Joker Venom.”

“How long will he need to recover?” Bria asked, slightly bewildered that a lowly human butler not only talked back to her but explained everything as logically as he did.

“My estimation is two days,” Alfred answered.

Bria turned back to Nightwing, “then you have two days to see if I gut you like a fish.” She walked over to Alfred and handed him a business card. “I know that Bats has loads of money, but I’m not a charity. I want daily updates on his condition and a bill of any services rendered. Understand?”

“Crystal clear ma’am,” Alfred said and took the card from her.

Bria turned to leave the room, but stopped at Tim. “I guess I owe you for getting him the antidote quickly.”

“No,” Tim stuttered out. “I mean, he was on the Team, so it was my job to get him home safely.”

“Still,” Bria mused and eyeballed the young Robin. “I don’t like being in people’s debt. If you need something,” Bria handed him another business card.

“Will do,” Tim said and nodded his head. He winced slightly at the pain that went through him, as he just hit his head off a metal door not even three hours ago.

Bria smirked slightly at his pain and nervousness. “I’ll be seeing you all soon,” Bria said over her shoulder as she left the room and went back to her car.

Both Nightwing’s and Tim’s wrist communications devices chimed and they both opened them, revealing their blue holographic screens showing Cat Grant in front of a scene of car chase.

“Blue Beetle has done it again!” Cat said with a big grin on her face. “Another big villain, this time Joker and his girlfriend, Harley Quinn, were taken down by this news station’s prime time hero. While Joker is usually a threat taken care of by Batman, it seems that Blue Beetle has stepped in to lend a hand.”

“Hey!” Harley shouted from over Cat’s shoulder. “I’m a villain too! Why is all the focus on Mr. J?!” Harley was shoved into the back of an armored truck and the doors were slammed behind her.

“What’s the occasion that brings you to Gotham?” Cat asked Blue Beetle.

“I heard of a local arms dealer and decided to come investigate,” Blue responded. “After taking out Joker’s thugs, I chased him down and captured him.” Blue was waving at the crowd of fans that had gathered to see the commotion.

“Any reason why Batman didn’t handle this on his own?” Cat asked.

“No idea,” Blue answered. “Maybe he was just too busy to help.”

Nightwing and Tim both turned off their communicators.

“He’s got to stop saying that!” Nightwing groaned.

“Ahem,” Alfred cleared his throat to get their attention. They all turned to look at him. “It is nearly midnight and you all could use some rest, especially Master Cethin here.”

“Right,” Nightwing sighed. “Get some sleep guys, we can talk about this in a day or two, when Gavin is feeling better.”

“Excuse me,” Alfred spoke up. “Master Drake may very well have a concussion. He won’t be sleeping tonight, and I will call his school in the morning to make sure he has time to rest.”

“Right, right,” Nightwing sighed. “Sorry Alfred, it’s been a long day. Maybe I should get some sleep.” Nightwing walked out of the room and into the manor.

“Perhaps Master Allen would be willing to spend the night,” Alfred said. “He could certainly help keep you awake since I’ll be busy with Master Cethin.”

“Sounds crash,” Bart replied with a little less gusto than he usually did. “I’ll have to text the Garricks to make sure it’s alright.”

“Sounds good,” Tim said. “I’m going to go get a shower. I’ll come back here afterward and show you where you can get a shower. That way someone is with me to make sure I don’t fall asleep.”

Bart walked out to the foyer and sent the Garricks a text about spending the night at Wayne Manor.

Bart: Is it alright if I spend the night at Tim’s place?

Jay: Sounds fine to me.

Joan: Just make sure you get your schoolwork done tomorrow.

Bart smiled to himself with how much they cared about him.

Bart: No problemo, have a good night!

Jay: Goodnight Bart

Joan: Goodnight!

Bart walked back to the room Gavin was in. “Good to spend the night!”

“Excellent,” Alfred replied. “Master Drake will be back shortly.”

In a few minutes, Tim reappeared in a pair of black sleeping pants and a red t-shirt. He showed Bart where he could get showered, got him is own sleeping clothes, a pair of blue sleeping pants and a grey t-shirt, and then he gave him the official tour of the house. Wayne manor was very similar to Bria’s manor, however Wayne manor looked and felt more Gothic in style. Tall vaulted ceilings and large windows were everywhere.

“Anything you want to do?” Tim asked with a yawn.

“Maybe you could use some fuel to stay awake,” Bart replied.

Tim just shrugged and the two of them made their way to the kitchen. Alfred made sure everything was stocked and fresh. Bart smiled as he gaped at the amounts of food. Tim smirked at the speedster, knowing how well they could eat.

“I honestly don’t have a lot of kitchen experience,” Tim admitted. “Alfred usually takes care of all the meals. I have helped out from time to time when I was healing before and couldn’t go on patrols.”

“Sounds crash to me!” Bart let out a lot more enthusiastically than before. “I know enough to read a cookbook before starting.” Bart used his superspeed to gather up the several cookbooks laying around the kitchen and stacked them on the counter. “What are you in the mood for?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Tim yawned again.

“Something with sugar,” Bart answered for him. “A batch of cookies shouldn’t be too hard. What’s your favorite type?”

“I’m honestly not too picky,” Tim relented, knowing that Bart was going to be making food whether he wanted it or not.

“Then a few batches of different types it is!” Bart said excitedly as he moved at superspeed and gathered all his components.

Tim took the lead, as he had more kitchen experience than Bart. Bart was more than happy to mix ingredients and put them on trays. The only thing that slowed him down was the stove, superspeed couldn’t make it heat up any faster or bake the cookies any quicker. In the matter of an hour, several batches of cookies were made, Tim was kept awake by the entertainment that was Bart zooming around the kitchen. The aromas of the chocolate chip, sugar, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle, and peanut butter cookies filled the kitchen. Tim got each of them a glass of milk for their cookies and they sat at the island and faced each other.

“So,” Bart’s eyes wondered around the kitchen. “What do you guys do for fun around here?”

“If it wasn’t one in the morning,” Tim replied. “We could play basketball or swim.” Tim thought about what they could do. “I do have a gaming system in my room, but it’s pretty close to Gavin, so Alfred wouldn’t want us to be too loud.”

“What about the famous Bat Cave?” Bart asked with a renewed sense of wonder.

“I don’t think Batman would like me just taking people down there,” Tim hesitated.

“What if it was for a mission?” Bart asked, an idea blooming in his mind.

“What mission?” Tim asked while raising an eyebrow.

“I know Nightwing wants to wait to go over everything when Gavin gets well,” Bart began explaining. “But I know Blue isn’t himself right now. Does Batman keep any files on people to know if they have been moded?”

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Tim relented.

“Please Tim,” Bart begged. “I know something is wrong and you guys are the best detectives in the world. If you can say that he’s himself, I will let this go, but if you can’t determine if Jaime’s himself or not, then I’ll know something is wrong.”

“Fine,” Tim said after a minute to think, which took more effort than usual with his concussion. “I’ll take you to the Bat Cave and you give me all your evidence, I’ll see if there is a mystery to solve or if you’re just being paranoid. Deal?”

“Deal!” Bart burst from his seat and squeezed Tim in a hug before letting him go to gather up all the cookies on a big tray. “Gonna need some snacks to keep us going.” Bart beamed at the chance to once again make his case as he followed Tim back into the library to the old clock. Tim opened the secret door to the Bat Cave and led Bart down the stairs.

The Bat Cave was immense in size, with lots of trophies from Batman’s time as a crime fighter, a giant supercomputer, several different vehicles, and display cases with various costumes for Batman, Robin, and Batgirl.

“Woah,” Bart sighed as he walked behind Tim.

“It’s a lot to take in at first,” Tim admitted. They made their way over to the supercomputer and Tim took a seat at the main chair. “Can I have your phone?”

Bart handed Tim his phone and Tim plugged it into the computer. The screen chimed to life as Tim began bringing up Bart and Jaime’s text messages on the large screen. Bart found a chair nearby and pulled it over to sit next to Tim, bringing along a second chair to sit the cookies on.

“Now,” Tim started once the phone had connected completely with the computer. “What are we looking for?”

“Signs that Jaime isn’t in control anymore,” Bart said matter-of-factly.

“Any specific timeframe?” Tim asked as he punched in a code to the computer.

“Sometime around April 9th,” Bart mused, bringing his hand up to his chin.

“That’s pretty specific,” Tim said as he raised an eyebrow at Bart. Tim brought up Bart’s phone log for April 9th, text messages, phone calls, social media, etc.

“I saw Green Beetle touching Jaime’s Scarab that day,” Bart explained.

“And where was that?” Tim asked while looking through the phone information.

“Just outside STAR Labs in Taos,” Bart answered.

Tim typed a few more commands into the computer and brought up the security footage feed from STAR Labs in Taos, New Mexico.

“I didn’t realize Batman kept an eye on STAR Labs,” Bart said and stared up at the screen.

“Batman keeps an eye on everyone who does business with the League,” Tim explained. “He also keeps an eye on known criminals, metahumans who aren’t members of the League or Team, members of the League and Team, and anyone who does anything remotely suspicious.” Tim looked over and saw the stunned look on Bart’s face. “He has some trust issues.”

Both boys chuckled at the joke.

Tim rewound the security footage back to when Bart said he found Green and Blue Beetle. He then rewound it further to see them coming out of the building. The security footage had no audio, their backs were turned to the cameras as they walked away, and the armor both the Beetles wore made it difficult to read their lips when Green did turn toward the camera, so Tim couldn’t make out what they were saying at all.

“It does look like Jaime allowed Green to touch his Scarab willingly,” Tim mused as he watched the footage.

“Can you tell if he used some sort of Martian mind control?” Bart asked while scratching his head.

“I don’t see any change in eye color like we do with Megan,” Tim answered. “But that armor has its own faceplate, so it could just be covered up.” Tim watched the footage a little longer and saw when Bart broke them apart. “Huh.”

“What?” Bart asked excitedly.

“It’s just something small,” Tim admitted, “but it looks like Jaime carries himself a little differently after you broke them apart. Almost like his posture corrected itself.”

“Okay…?” Bart asked not sure what that meant.

“It could be nothing,” Tim explained. “But people all have a certain way that they walk, sit, talk, or really anything they do. Jaime slouches slightly while he walks and talks before Green touches his Scarab.” Tim rewound the footage to show Bart. “But after,” Tim sped the footage up to show his point, “he has better posture.”

“Does that prove my point?!” Bart asked, ready for confirmation he was right.

“Possibly,” Tim said. “People’s posture can also change due to attitude. Was he excitedly telling you something?”

“He was happy when he said the Scarab was finally silent,” Bart said.

“That could even explain it,” Tim mused. “I do think something did happen here, but I can’t be certain without a mind reading.” Tim looked over and saw Bart slouch in his chair as if admitting defeat. “Cheer up Bart, you did good work. If something did happen here, then you’re the one who noticed it. If not, you’re just being a good friend. I’d be more than thrilled to know my friends were paying that close of attention to me.”

“Thanks Tim,” Bart said with sincerity, even if he did feel a little deflated.

“But the search isn’t over,” Tim said with confidence, raising his right index finger to emphasize his point. “I’ll bring up all previous footage of Jaime and the ones after April 9th, we have all night to figure out if something is amiss.”

“Let me just run and grab more drinks!” Bart exclaimed and ran at his superspeed to grab them refreshments.

****

**El Paso**

**May 11, 00:14 MDT**

Blue Beetle flew down and landed on the sidewalk just outside his house.

_Great, we’re home,_ Jaime said sarcastically. _Can we go to bed now?_

_That is the plan Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab replied.

Blue’s armor folded back up into the Scarab and he walked to his front door. Before he could open it himself, the door swung in on its own. Bianca, Jaime’s mother, was standing in the door frame and didn’t look happy with her son.

“We need to talk,” Bianca said with a stern tone of voice. She turned and walked into the living room.

_Just what I need,_ Jaime complained. _An angry madre to end this day._

Blue followed her, closing the front door and taking a seat on the couch. Bianca remained standing and paced back and forth in front of her son.

“This is well past your curfew,” Bianca scolded. “I know we didn’t have a say with you becoming a hero and all, but we do have a say with when you do missions. Nightwing also didn’t say anything about the Joker.”

“I’m fine mom,” Blue answered, raising his right hand to his chest. “With my armor, Joker couldn’t do anything to me.”

“¡Ese no es el punto!” Bianca spat back at a slightly higher volume. She took a breath and calmed herself. “He’s one of Batman’s problems, and a major problem at that. I know you haven’t been a hero for that long, but he’s done a lot of heinous things to people. I don’t want you involved in that. Besides, what about your teammates?”

“What about my teammates?” Blue asked. He put his hand back down by his side.

“They don’t have armor, hijo,” Bianca explained. “What if they were hurt?”

“They’re fine,” Blue replied. “Robin knows the Joker well enough to keep the others safe.”

“Also,” Bianca kept her tone quieter but still just as fierce. “Why haven’t I seen more of your teammates around here? At least Bart, he used to visit quite a bit. You even spend less time at the team meetup place, wherever that is now.”

_Careful mom,_ Jaime said with worry in his voice. _Don’t pry too much when you’re alone._

“Bart has been busy,” Blue answered. “He does a lot of missions with the Flash, plus schoolwork for both of us have gotten more demanding. As far as the hideout, it’s a lot less formal with Mount Justice gone.”

“Well,” Bianca seemed to think carefully about her words. “As much as I appreciate you focusing on your schoolwork, your grades certainly needed attention, I do think it is healthy to get proper socialization. So, this Friday, the 14th, I want you to invite Bart over for supper.”

“What if he has plans already?” Blue asked back in disbelief.

“Then I’ll pick another day,” Bianca said matter-of-factly. “But I’d like an answer by Wednesday or I’m calling Nightwing to get an answer myself.” Bianca started to walk out of the room and up the stairs.

“But…” Blue started.

“Sin peros hijo,” Bianca cut him off and disappeared into her room to head to bed.

_Ready to pretend to be me to both my family and Bart?_ Jaime taunted.

_While unexpected,_ the Scarab answered. _We have been able to fool everyone up to this point. I do not calculate any complications._

_We’ll see about that,_ Jaime spat back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations
> 
> ¡Ese no es el punto!- That isn’t the point  
> Sin peros hijo- No buts son


	16. Family Dinner

**Wayne Manor, Gotham**

**May 11, 08:15 EDT**

Nightwing walked up to Wayne manor and let himself in. He made his way to the room where Alfred was taking care of Gavin.

“How’s it going?” Nightwing asked as he opened the door.

“He’s made some progress,” Alfred said as he sat next to Gavin. “His muscles are starting to loosen up, so he can close his eyes now.” Alfred gestured at Gavin who was still grinning like a madman, but he did look like he was sleeping finally.

“That’s good,” Nightwing sighed with relief and brought his hand up to rub his neck. “Where’s Tim and Bart?”

“Not sure,” Alfred answered. “I did smell baked goods last night and saw that the dishwasher was fully loaded during one of my breaks, but I didn’t see them anywhere.”

“I’ll see if I can find them,” Nightwing said and walked about of the room, closing the door behind him. Nightwing walked around the second floor and ground floors of the manor but didn’t see either of the teens. He did notice the secret door to the Bat Cave was slightly opened. “Really?” he groaned and opened the door. He walked down the secret passage and saw both boys sitting at the big supercomputer watching various newsfeeds of Blue Beetle.

Both Tim and Bart were so engrossed in their investigation, fatigued, and sugared up that they didn’t even hear Nightwing approach them.

“What are you two up to?” Nightwing asked in a serious tone.

“Geez!” Tim shouted and jumped in his seat. He brought his hand up to his heart to feel his heart beating a mile a minute.

“Ahh!” Bart screamed and fell out of his seat and onto the floor.

Nightwing grabbed his stomach as he laughed at the teens.

“Not funny Dick!” Tim spat while his breathing slowly returned to normal.

“Sorry guys,” Nightwing said while wiping the tears from his eyes. “I honestly didn’t try to sneak up on you, you were just so focused on,” Nightwing glanced up at the computer, “whatever it is you’re doing.”

“We are solving a mystery!” Bart said as he stood up off the floor and brushed himself off.

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?” Nightwing asked and looked at Bart.

“It is my whole mission to keep Blue from betraying humanity to the Reach!” Bart defended himself. “As long as the Reach are here, I owe it to the world to do just that.”

“Find anything?” Nightwing asked and looked between the two of them.

“Nothing concrete,” Tim admitted, “but there are several signs that something may be up. I’m not really an expert on mind control, but Jaime’s posture, his wording, and his general attitude towards things have all changed slightly. It’s really subtle, so I’m willing to bet that only those closest to him would even notice, but it’s almost like he’s acting like a stereotypical ‘perfect’ human.”

“Perfect human?” Nightwing asked.

“Like every anatomy book describes,” Tim explained. “Or those dummies in science labs and doctor’s offices. Basically, how a human should behave and carry themselves versus how people actually behave.” Tim absentmindedly picked up another cookie and ate it.

Nightwing looked around and saw trays, empty soda bottles, and empty glasses that had the faintest hints of milk left in them. Only a few cookies remained, the rest were crumbs on their faces, the floor, the computer keyboard, everywhere.

“I think you two have had enough sugar for right now,” Nightwing tentatively said and picked up an empty tray.

“This isn’t a sugar rush thing!” Bart blurted out. “I know something is wrong with Blue!”

“I hear you,” Nightwing said and put his hands up in mock defense. “But maybe you two should get a little bit of sleep and then you can explain everything to me in a more coherent manner. Take the stuff that can be thrown away with you, I’ll get the trays and glasses. Afterward, I’ll relieve Alfred so he can take a nap. How about we meet back up at noon for lunch?”

“Sounds good,” Tim said and popped another cookie in his mouth.

“Totally crash,” Bart yawned.

The three of them gathered up what they could get without needing a vacuum or dustpan and Bart went to a guest bedroom while Tim went to his room. Nightwing relieved Alfred, who called Gotham Academy to excuse Tim before heading off for a quick nap.

****

**El Paso**

**May 11, 09:00 MDT**

_She wants us to what?!_ The Ambassador shouted inside Jaime’s head.

 _The Bianca Reyes requires us to socialize with the Impulse,_ the Scarab explained again. _This coming Friday, the 14 th of May, we are required to invite the Impulse over for dinner with Jaime Reyes and his family._

 _Think you’re up for the challenge of pretending to be me in front of not only my family,_ Jaime taunted, _but also the person who came from the future to stop you?_

 _Fooling a child is nothing,_ the Ambassador taunted back. _If he is as gullible as you, this meal will be simple._

 _Should we send a message to the Impulse now?_ The Scarab asked. _The sooner we have proof of contact, the sooner the Bianca Reyes will become less suspicious of us._

 _Fine,_ the Ambassador relented. _Send him a message, but make sure it is not vocal communication, I cannot stand his voice._

Blue pulled out his phone and opened his messages to Bart. Jaime’s chest hurt seeing all the messages from Bart, day after day asking to chill-hang or call, and each response was no, with various reasons as schoolwork, family obligations, or on a mission.

Jaime: Bart, would you like to have dinner with me and my family this Friday, the 14th?

 _I am sure we will get a response any second now,_ the Ambassador sighed. A few moments passed and Jaime’s phone remained silent. _How odd._

“Mr. Reyes!” Jaime’s geometry teacher called to him. “I am sure that whatever you’re doing on your phone is much more important than school,” the class giggled at him for getting caught on his phone, “but if you’d like to avoid detention, please answer the question.” The teacher pointed to the board and the equation they had up there.

The Scarab answered the question easily through Jaime’s body.

“Well,” the teacher stuttered. “I’m happy that you’re still paying attention but put that phone away. If I see it out again, you can spend your time in detention. Understand?”

“Understood,” Blue answered, again earning the giggles from his fellow classmates.

 _Great,_ Jaime sighed. _Now I’m not only a nerd for answering that question out of the blue, but I’m also a teacher’s pet for simply giving into their demands._

 _The less attention we draw now,_ the Scarab argued, _the better it is for us._

 _Gratitude Scarab,_ the Ambassador added. _I will prepare for this meal with the Impulse this week, simply keep Jaime here out of trouble and possible find a way to expand his public profile._

 _Of course, Ambassador,_ the Scarab responded.

****

**Wayne Manor, Gotham**

**May 11, 11:30 EDT**

***Bart ran for cover across the war-torn landscape of Mount Justice. His superspeed was the only thing that kept him alive and literally one step ahead of his enemy. He ducked behind a boulder to catch his breath.

“Ahh!” Bart screamed when he saw Jaime crouching behind the same boulder. Bart fell back onto his butt, but quickly recovered when his mind registered who it was. “Thank goodness!” Bart got up at superspeed and wrapped his arms around Jaime in a vice-grip hug. “I thought I lost you!”

A strange noise came from Jaime’s mouth, the alien language of the Reach, with its chittering noise.

“Jaime?” Bart let go of Jaime and took a step back to look at his friend.

Jaime opened his mouth again to talk, but the language of the Reach again came out. Jaime then encased himself in the armor of Blue Beetle. He raised his right arm and it morphed into the sonic cannon.

“Jaime please, snap out of it!” Bart begged, tears welling up in his eyes.

Blue simply aimed his cannon and fired at Bart, enveloping him in the blue rings of energy.***

Bart was jolted awake by the alarm he had set for himself. He was soaked through with sweat, causing his sleeping clothes to cling uncomfortably to him. He reached over and turned his alarm off. He wiped the tears from his eyes. It took him a minute of looking around to remember where he was, safe in a guest bedroom at Wayne manor. He then looked back down at his phone and saw two text messages waiting for him. He opened the first one, from the Garricks.

Joan: What time were you planning on coming home?

Jay: Don’t forget about your schoolwork.

Bart smiled to himself before he typed up a quick response.

Bart: Going to have lunch with Dick and Tim. I’ll text before I leave here to come home. And don’t worry, the schoolwork will get done.

He saw that the other text was from Jaime, making his breath catch in his throat.

Jaime: Bart, would you like to have dinner with me and my family this Friday, the 14th?

Bart’s heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. _Maybe Nightwing was right and everything was just due to schoolwork,_ he thought to himself.

Bart typed back his response to Jaime.

Bart: Sounds crash! I’ll see you Friday! Send me the details when you get them.

He sat his phone back down and rushed into the shower, getting out of his sweaty sleeping clothes and back into his super suit. He walked out of the bedroom and joined Dick and Tim in the kitchen, who were dressed in street clothes.

“Any reason for the suit?” Tim asked with a smirk.

“I don’t live here,” Bart sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Plus, I have to head home afterward and do my schoolwork or the Garricks will have me feeling the mode.”

Tim and Dick laughed at the thought of the Garricks punishing Bart.

“So,” Bart hesitantly brought up. “I actually got a text message from Jaime while I was sleeping. It seems that you may have been right with schoolwork keeping him busy.” Bart held out his phone to Tim.

“Really?” Tim asked with eager curiosity. He took Bart’s phone and read over the message. “That’s certainly different behavior.”

“Different how?” Dick asked.

“He’s usually found any excuse to blow Bart off,” Tim said while handing the phone back to Bart. “But now he wants to have Bart over for dinner this Friday.”

“That’s good, right?” Dick asked, walking towards the fridge to gather food for them.

“I don’t know,” Bart sighed. “I mean, it’s totally crash to get to talk to him again, but it just seems out of the blue.”

“Look Bart,” Dick said in a calm voice. “Maybe this is exactly what I said earlier, and he was just busy before. Why not go and see if anything has changed?”

“I’m totally planning on going!” Bart said a little too enthusiastically, making him blush a little.

“Maybe Gavin will be ready to do a mind reading by then, but we can’t rush that process,” Tim interjected.

“If he’s ready, then we can ask him,” Dick said. “However, I have a feeling that Bria will want to be nearby this time.” Dick rubbed his throat after sitting the food on the island. “I’d appreciate it if she went along this time.”

“We’ve got your back in case anything weird is going on,” Tim said and gave Bart a warm smile.

“He still hasn’t responded to my text back though,” Bart pouted slightly.

“He’s probably at school dude,” Tim teased Bart.

“That’s right,” Bart said, bringing his hand to his forehead.

“Well,” Dick started, “let’s eat lunch and then Bart can get home before he gets grounded.”

The three of them chuckled and sat down at the dining room table to enjoy their food.

****

**El Paso**

**May 11, 16:15 MDT**

Blue made it home after school had ended. He opened the front door and could smell supper being prepared in the kitchen.

“Hey mom!” Blue greeted from the doorway before closing the door behind him.

“Hey Jaime!” Bianca returned the greeting before coming out of the kitchen and into the entryway of the house. “¿Buen dia en la escuela?”

“Yeah,” Blue sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Bart is good to come over this Friday.” He held up his phone for his mother to read the message.

“Wonderful!” Bianca exclaimed. “I’ll get you the details when your father gets home. I’m not sure how much work he has to get done before coming home that day. ¡Gracias hijo!” She walked over and put her arm around her son as they walked into the living room. “Now get your schoolwork done and make sure to get any done for this Friday if you can. I won’t have any excuse to cut this dinner short because you’re tired or something.” She left him in the living room to finish preparing supper.

 _At least schoolwork is easy while you’re in control,_ Jaime relented.

 _These calculations are simple and the answers to the rest of the topics is easily found in your textbooks,_ the Scarab replied. _The fact that people in your class are failing is not compatible._

****

**Wayne Manor, Gotham**

**May 12, 21:10 EDT**

“I told you I’m fine,” Gavin groaned as his bed was crowded by people staring at him.

“With all due respect Master Cethin,” Alfred explained. “Another day of bedrest won’t kill you.”

“He seems just as annoying as before,” Bria commented and smirked at Gavin. “I thought maybe that Joker Venom would have given him a sense of humor.”

Gavin’s mouth curved upward in a smile and he let out a forced giggle, the reaction looked painful.

“Miss Reynolds,” Alfred scolded. “I advise you to refrain from saying anything remotely resembling a joke. While the venom is almost out of his system, it isn’t out completely. Any major lapse in humor can trigger the venom.”

“You’re no fun Alfred,” Bria remarked and turned to face Nightwing. “I guess this means you live to fight crime another day.”

“Thanks Bria,” Nightwing said hesitantly.

“Can we ask about this Friday now?” Bart asked impatiently.

“What about this Friday?” Bria asked with a harsh tone.

“Bart has brought it to my attention that Jaime may no longer be in control of himself,” Tim explained. “Given recent events and behaviors, we were wondering if we could attempt another mind reading?”

“And you approved this?” Bria glared at Nightwing.

“Not entirely,” Nightwing answered and raised his hands in mock defense. “This time we plan on a much safer means of reading Jaime’s mind.”

“I guess I don’t really get a say in this?” Gavin interrupted with a sour look on his face.

“I thought you wanted to help?” Tim asked.

“I do,” Gavin said uncomfortably. “But I hate the idea of invading someone’s mind without any real reason to.” Gavin was messing with the trim of the blanket on his bed.

“We have reason!” Bart shouted. “I know something is wrong and we just need proof! You read our minds before?”

“That was different,” Gavin pointed out. “You were injured, and I didn’t pry for information. I got enough to keep your secret identities and get you to that meeting. This feels like an invasion of privacy.”

“You had no problem with invading my privacy,” Bria said sarcastically.

Gavin let out another forced laugh. “Again, that was not reading your mind. I was practically carbon dating you,” Gavin giggled again. A quick look at Alfred’s serious face quelled any other laughs in Gavin.

“Just this once NM?” Bart begged Gavin. “I promise we won’t ask again after this reading.”

Everyone’s eyes focused on Gavin, waiting for his response.

“One more time,” Gavin sighed out.

“Totally Crash!” Bart shouted and surged forward at superspeed to squeeze Gavin in a tight hug. “I promise you this is needed.”

“What’s your new and safer plan Nightwing?” Bria asked.

“The goal is to set up a moving truck across the street from the Reyes household,” Nightwing explained. “Get Gavin inside of it and have him enter Blue’s mind during the dinner. It keeps him out of harm’s way and keeps Blue in check should he detect anything.”

“Make sure there is room for me in that truck,” Bria demanded.

“Can I make an alteration to the plan?” Gavin asked and Bart finally let go with his hug.

“What would that be?” Tim asked.

“My magic does work better when my target is sleeping,” Gavin explained. “Plus, if you want us to cover more ground in Jaime’s head, I may want to bring some help with me.”

“I’m not getting involved with this magic shit again,” Bria spat out.

“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Gavin said. He brought his hand up and covered his heart, “I may need your timely help in protecting my body while I do the spell.” Gavin poured on a thick Southern accent and immediately the room broke out into laughter, all except Bria and Alfred. Alfred stuck another injection of the anti-venom into Gavin’s arm. “Ow!” Gavin’s laughter immediately stopped, and he rubbed his arm.

“I specifically remember saying no laughing or humorous moments,” Alfred scolded and eyed up everyone in the room. Even Bria had a smirk on her face from Gavin getting jabbed and scolded.

“Sorry Alfred,” Gavin relented. “I just had to know where Bria learned human behavior from.”

“One of these days Cethin,” Bria seethed and locked eyes with Gavin.

“So,” Tim said, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “Who did you want to bring along?”

“Well,” Gavin thought for a moment. “I think Bart would make a good choice, seeing as he is the one who thinks something is wrong.”

“Crash!” Bart shouted and fist pumped with both of his hands.

“Plus, I figure his friendship with and knowledge of Jaime will come in handy,” Gavin continued while sporting a smirk on his face. Bart blushed and attempted to look down at the floor to keep from meeting anyone’s gaze. “I also figure you could help Tim.”

“Me?” Tim asked, stunned.

“Yeah,” Gavin added. “A detective is always helpful when trying to solve a mystery.”

“Ok,” Nightwing crossed his arms over his chest. “So, Bria stands guard over the three of you in the back of the truck. Gavin works his spell and takes Impulse and Robin into Blue’s mind while he sleeps. Any questions?” The room stayed quiet. “Good, then everyone get some rest and be ready for Friday.”

****

**El Paso**

**May 14 th, 18:00 MDT**

Bart walked up to the Reyes house and rang the doorbell. He glanced down at himself and made sure that his clothing wasn’t wrinkled from his superspeed. He wore a light grey long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and running shoes. He glanced back down at his phone.

Jaime: Dinner is at 6:15pm.

Bart: Crash! Any sort of dress code?

Jaime: No, just no super suit.

Bart: See you then!

Bart glanced back over his shoulder and saw the inconspicuous moving truck across the street. He knew that Bria, Gavin, and Tim were inside and waiting for the dinner to be over before attempting to hop into Jaime’s mind. Before he could bring himself to worry anymore about tonight, the Reyes’ front door opened.

“¡Buenos Noches Bart!” Bianca said with a warm smile. “Glad you could make it tonight.”

“It’s totally crash to be invited,” Bart said and returned the smile.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand what ‘crash’ means to you,” Bianca chuckled and let Bart into her house.

Bart stepped into the Reyes household again, it felt like he hadn’t been there in ages. Everything looked the same, a clean home for a family who made a decent living, between Bianca’s nursing job and her husband, Alberto, working as a mechanic, they had what they needed.

“Alberto should be home any minute now,” Bianca explained and directed Bart to the living room. “Have a seat and I’ll get Jaime down here.” She disappeared up the steps.

Bart sat down on the couch and awkwardly twiddled his thumbs. He heard a door slam and saw Milagro come running down the stairs and into the living room. She jumped up onto the couch and sat cross-legged facing Bart. She just stared at Bart for a moment, making an incredibly awkward silence come across the room.

“How’s it been Milagro?” Bart asked with a nervous smile.

“Boring!” Milagro let out an exacerbated sigh. “Jaime is even less fun when you’re not around.”

“Yeah?” Bart asked and felt a stabbing pain in his chest.

“Yeah,” Milagro agreed. “He doesn’t even really smile anymore, at least not at home. He just hides in his room, watching tv for the news, doing schoolwork, or going on missions.” Milagro’s hands were flying around as she talked. “At least when you came over, he seemed almost like a normal person.”

“Well,” Bart started, actually thinking about his words, “once summer comes, I’ll come by more often.” It hurt Bart to think about the future, especially given the fact he came from a darker future where the Reach wins. Bart tried to keep a smile on his face, a mask he’d grown accustomed to wearing in the past but being this close to the Reyes family made it hard to keep his pretenses up.

 _Hope you’re ready to see if you can fool everyone,_ Jaime taunted as he saw his body walk down the stairs into the living room.

 _This night will be over before you know it,_ the Ambassador replied. _No one will even notice a difference._

“Hey Bart,” Blue said as he walked into the living room. Waving his hand in an awkward greeting.

 _Nice start,_ Jaime sassed.

“Hey Blue!” Bart said excitedly and jumped up to give Jaime a tight hug. Bart had to really contain himself not to move at superspeed. Jaime didn’t return the hug, instead just sort of standing there with Bart wrapped around him.

 _This behavior is downright annoying!_ The Ambassador complained.

 _This is how he says hello,_ Jaime explained with annoyance. _You honestly get use to it._ Jaime wished he could hug Bart back, but without control of his body, he had to watch everything unfold.

“Blue?” Milagro asked while scratching her head.

“Oh!” Bart let go of Jaime and faced Milagro. “The first time I met your brother he was wearing a blue shirt.” Bart blushed slightly at the weird tension in the room. “I had trouble with names, so everyone got a nickname.”

“Bianca!” A male voice called after the front door opened. “¡Estoy en casa!”

“Just in time Alberto!” Bianca called from the kitchen.

“Do I have time to get cleaned up?” Alberto asked.

“Sure thing,” Bianca answered. “Solo se rápido.”

Alberto made his way upstairs, giving Bart a polite wave as he passed by. Bart could see that his hands were black, probably from motor oil and grease. After hearing a door open and close, Bart heard a shower start up.

Everyone made their way to the dinner table, only a few minutes behind schedule. Alberto’s hands were still stained with oil, but at least you could kind of make out his skin color underneath. At least Bart didn’t feel underdressed. The Reyes family were wearing everyday clothing, so at least he made a good choice there. Bianca made a feasts worth of food, chicken breasts covered in different herbs, mashed potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots were lined up on the table, not to mention a homemade cherry pie cooling on the counter in the kitchen. Bianca had even gone to the trouble to make two pitchers of iced tea with lemon wedges.

“You really went all out cariña,” Alberto marveled at the table.

“It’s been a stressful time,” Bianca sighed. “Plus, we haven’t had a guest over in a long time.” Bianca raised an eyebrow at Bart and Jaime.

“I’ve been a little busy mom,” Blue retorted.

 _Busy being controlled like a puppet!_ Jaime shouted in his mind.

“Lo sé,” Bianca replied and then met the confused gaze of Bart. “Sorry Bart, I guess we should stick to English.”

“It’s totally crash,” Bart chuckled a little nervously. As much as he liked to be the center of attention amongst the Team, these smaller settings with family members were awkward. “Don’t let me stop you.”

Alberto led the family in a prayer, a little slower than usual since he had to do so in English and forgot a word here or there, but then everyone began to load up their plates.

“So, Jaime,” Alberto started while cutting up his piece of chicken, “how much property damage did your battle at the Taos center cause?”

Bart choked on his piece of chicken. “You guys know about him being a superhero?!” Once Bart realized everyone was looking at him again, he blushed slightly.

 _Get ready for this conversation,_ Jaime chuckled.

 _This will not be a problem,_ the Ambassador replied.

“Of course,” Bianca answered with a smile. “He wasn’t allowed to join the Team without us knowing about it. Nightwing stopped by the day before Jaime was recruited.”

“To answer your question,” Blue interjected, giving Bart a sideways glance. “The damage was not too bad. All done in the effort to take out Red Volcano.”

“Do you know the other Team members identities?” Bart asked dumbfounded.

“No,” Bianca replied. “We only know Jaime’s identity. Nightwing didn’t want us to know too much and risk us becoming a target for villains. Although I assume since you know about the Team, you must be on it.”

“Yep!” Bart said enthusiastically. “I’m Impulse, grandson of the Flash.”

Alberto and Bianca stopped eating and stared at him.

 _Hahaha,_ Jaime laughed. _This will be interesting._

“I didn’t think the Flash was old enough to have a grandson your age?” Alberto asked.

“Oh, sorry,” Bart raised his hand to lightly knock against his head. “Sorry for making you feel the mode there, but I’m from the future. Grandpa, I mean the Flash, and his wife are currently pregnant with dad and Aunt Dawn.”

“You are certainly the most interesting friend that Jaime has made so far,” Alberto remarked and resumed eating.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Bart said with a smile.

“The future…” Milagro said with amazement. “Tell us what happens! Do I get my pony I keep asking for?” Milagro leaned forward to interrogate Bart.

 _Here we go,_ Jaime would have rolled his eyes if he was able to.

“¡Hija!” Bianca said forcefully. Milagro pouted and went back to eating her food, giving her mom a sour look. “Sorry Bart, for switching to Spanish again and the questions.”

“Not a problem,” Bart laughed. “I actually can’t reveal too much anyway. Kid Flash said I could risk collapsing the time stream.”

“Oh,” Bianca said with surprise. “In that case, I won’t ask anything. I hope you succeed in whatever it is you came back to do.”

 _Same here_ /“Same here,” Jaime and Bart said at the same time.

The rest of the dinner passed without any more surprises. They discussed recent missions, the Ambassador careful to leave out any Reach agendas and Bart careful to leave out any attempts to read Jaime’s mind. They also talked about school and Bart’s struggle with history class, which got a nice chuckle out of Bianca. Blue was quieter than he usually would have been, which was noticed by both Bart and Bianca, but when prodded, the Ambassador made sure to carry the conversation, allowing the Scarab to chime in when he needed any details.

“Your food is amazing!” Bart exclaimed, leaning back in his chair and patting his stomach.

“Thanks Bart,” Bianca chuckled and looked down at her watch. “My goodness! It is already after nine.” Bianca looked back up at Bart. “Sorry Bart, but I’ve got to get Milagro to bed.”

“Everyone else gets to stay up!” Milagro protested and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Everyone else is older than you,” Bianca reminded her. Bianca stood up and walked around the table. “Now come along and get ready for bed. Say goodbye to Bart.”

“Goodbye Bart,” Milagro pouted and shuffled her feet up the stairs.

“Goodnight Milagro,” Bart replied with a half-smile on his face.

Blue stretched his arms up and yawned. “I guess I should head to bed too. That battle with Red Volcano really took it out of me.”

Bianca glared at Jaime before she walked up the stairs. “If you head out before I get back Bart, have a good night.”

“You too Mrs. Reyes!” Bart replied with a smile.

“Do you need dropped off anywhere or is someone picking you up?” Alberto asked Bart.

“Someone is picking me up,” Bart replied.

“Then feel free to hang out until they get here,” Alberto said. “But I’m moving to my chair in the living room.” Alberto chuckled at his last line and stood up from the table and walked away.

“Goodnight Bart,” Blue said and stood up from the table. He walked up the stairs and disappeared into his room.

“Goodnight Blue,” Bart said sadly. Jaime didn’t even wait for a reply before just vanishing. Bart stood up and walked out the front door. He drug his feet as he made his way over to the moving truck across the street. He felt that same stabbing sensation in his chest and had to quickly wipe the tears that were beginning to well up in his eyes. He took a deep breath and knocked on the back door of the truck. The door opened and Bria stood there, holding it up with one hand.

“It’s about time,” Bria said with a smirk. “Get in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations
> 
> ¿Buen dia en la escuela?- Good day at school?  
> ¡Buenos Noches!- Good Evening  
> ¡Estoy en casa!- I’m home  
> Solo se rápido- Just be quick  
> Cariña- Sweetie, Dear, My Love (feminine)  
> Lo sé- I know  
> ¡Hija!- Daughter
> 
> Random Story Note: I couldn't find any documented age for Milagro anywhere, so I tried my best to make her feel like a 10 year old. A 6 year age gap isn't too big and all the art for her looks to be around this age.


	17. Into the Void

**El Paso (Jaime)**

**May 14, 21:22 MDT**

Blue made his way into his bedroom and gathered his clothing to change for bed. There was a knock on his door.

“Come in,” Blue called out.

Bianca opened the bedroom door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “I thought I said no cutting this dinner short,” she said with a stern tone of voice.

 _What is this woman’s problem?_ The Ambassador groaned.

 _The Bianca Reyes is experiencing heightened levels of epinephrine,_ the Scarab explained. _She appears to be in emotional distress._

 _It’s called being mad hermano,_ Jaime complained. _She’s mad we didn’t hang out with Bart after dinner._

“But I didn’t cut dinner short mom,” Blue complained. “It was Milagro’s bedtime.”

 _Like I’d care about going to bed at the same time as my sister,_ Jaime sassed. _More time to play my video games without distractions._

“Since when does that matter?” Bianca kept her volume lower even though she was mad.

“Sorry mom,” Blue sighed. “That battle with Red Volcano really wore me out, plus I think I hit my head during the fight. I have a massive headache.” Blue brought his right hand up and rubbed his temple.

Bianca let out a sigh. “Fine,” she groaned. “Take some Tylenol and get some sleep.” She turned to leave the room but paused. “I just worry about you is all,” she whispered over her shoulder. “I want to make sure you’re not stressing yourself out.”

All Jaime could do was watch as his mom left his room. He desperately wanted to hang out with Bart, or argue with his mom, even sleep on his own terms, but he was held captive in his own mind by the Reach.

 _I guess that shows you how gullible your kind is,_ the Ambassador gloated. _Scarab, make sure to be nice and rested for tomorrow. I want Jaime Reyes ready to patrol for another publicity opportunity._

 _Of course, Ambassador,_ the Scarab replied. With that, Blue got ready for bed and laid down to sleep.

****

**El Paso (Bart)**

**May 14, 21:22 MDT**

It took a moment for Bart’s eyes to adjust to the dim lighting in the back of the moving truck. Bria stood by the door and kept an eye out through a one-way window that was cleverly disguised as part of the logo on the outside of the truck. Tim sat near Gavin, who was finishing a circle on the floor of the truck, roughly a foot in diameter. The circle looked like a pentagram, but the star had seven points instead of five, is was made of a strange black sand and in its center was a picture of Jaime.

“Did you do all of this when you read our mind before?” Bart asked curiously.

“No,” Gavin chuckled. “Since I was close enough to touch you guys, I merged our shadows. This sand comes from the Plane of Shadows, so it will act as Jaime’s shadow for the spell.”

“So how does this work?” Bart asked and sat down across from Gavin.

“Great…” Bria sighed. “Get him talking about magic again.”

“It’s a complicated spell,” Gavin explained, ignoring Bria. “Our spirits will leave our bodies and travel to Jaime’s body. Bria will keep our bodies safe while we merge with Jaime’s body.”

Bart had never been so thankful for a dimly lit room before, or in this case truck, as it hid the fact he was blushing from the thought of merging with Jaime.

“Once we enter Jaime’s mind,” Gavin continued explaining. “It is imperative that we don’t let the Scarab, or the Reach know we are there. I don’t know how integrated Jaime’s mind is with all that alien tech, but I’d rather not let them know we are there.”

“What happens if they find out?” Bart asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

“I don’t know what countermeasures they would have,” Gavin answered. “I’m also not a natural telepath like Miss Martian, so I can’t adapt as quickly as she could to a threat. We also need to be careful not to mess with anything in Jaime’s mind, as any damage could hurt Jaime or ourselves. I will act as our guide, looking through his mind. Tim will keep an eye out for any clues of mind control.”

“Not that I know what I’m looking for exactly,” Tim relented. “But I’m always up for a challenge.”

“Bart,” Gavin said and looked over at Bart. “You’ll let us know if what we’re seeing is something that relates to Jaime. You know him the best, so you’ll most likely know where we are at any given time. Sound good?”

“Sounds crash!” Bart shouted and then realized they were meant to be stealthy. “Sorry, sorry, forgot what mode we were in.”

The boys all chuckled while Bria rolled her eyes.

“Ok,” Gavin said and gestured to the circle. “Let’s all sit around the circle.” The three of them situated themselves to be equidistant from each other. “Bria,” Gavin called over. “Mind making a circle around each of us with the sand?”

“Ilíthioi mágoi kai ilíthia ámmos,” Bria grumbled to herself as she took the glass decanter from Gavin and poured a circle of black sand around each of them.

Gavin smirked and took the decanter back from her and connected each of their circles with the central circle.

“Animabus nostris et nobis liberate conjunguntur,” Gavin’s eyes disappeared in the dim lighting of the truck, enveloped in darkness. “Aperi mentibus nostris, quod liceat nobis transitum ostendere.”

Bart felt a strange sensation wash over him when Gavin finished his spell. He felt like he was dunked into a tank of ice water, his breath caught in his throat, his limbs felt numb, and when he opened his eyes all he saw was darkness. For a split second he panicked, trying to look around in the darkness.

“Hello!” Bart called out; his words muffled as if speaking through a pillow. The shadows around him began shifting and everything became bathed in a red light. Red and grey pods lined the walls in the room that was created around him. The walls above those pods were red and had a chitinous appearance to them, like the exoskeleton of an insect. The floors were a sickly yellow color that stretched from the pods to the center of the room, where a yellow column stretched from floor to ceiling. The column was surrounded with control panels and computer screens. The room was empty, but Bart recognized it as one of the labs aboard the Reach ship.

“Everything good Bart?” Gavin asked, materializing next to Bart. Tim materialized on the other side of Gavin. They were all wearing their superhero gear.

“Yeah,” Bart sighed, his heartrate returning to normal. “I wasn’t expecting that sensation, had me feeling the mode there.”

“I know what you mean,” Tim agreed. “I didn’t know mind melding felt like that.”

“I don’t think telepathy feels like that,” Gavin pointed out. “Like I said, mine is a magic melding, meaning our souls are inside Jaime right now. Where are we?” Gavin looked around, not knowing where they were at.

“The Reach ship,” Bart answered. The door made a buzzing sound and began to open, its plates retracting into one another from floor to ceiling.

“Lateo!” Gavin spat out, reaching a hand out to both Bart and Tim, grabbing onto their shoulders.

Bart looked down at his hands, but couldn’t see them, he saw the floor instead. When he gazed at this body, it wasn’t there. “This is awesome!” Bart exclaimed.

“Shh!” Gavin shushed Bart.

The doors finished opening and a group of Reach aliens stepped into the room. The Reach’s head scientist led the group, her red uniform almost blending in perfectly with the walls of the room, if it wasn’t for her white gloves and white collar, the bottom half of her face was behind an orange transparent face shield, allowing her green skin to be seen around her eyes. Following the Scientist was the Ambassador, whose lighter shade of green skin worked well into his segmented body armor, making it difficult to discern where his skin ended and the armor began, the armor was accented with blue-green sections around the wrists, neck, and face, and his black open-faced coat was worn over top it all with its white trim, buttons, and collar. Black Beetle walked behind both of them, his body armor nearly identical to Jaime’s armor, except it is black and made for a larger frame. A standard soldier, in his red armor, pushed a containment pod behind Black Beetle. The person in the containment pod was Jaime, unconscious and shirtless as he was slumped against the back of the pod.

Bart gasped quietly, he remembered saving Jaime from this room in the past, but he didn’t know how he was brought here. Bart felt a slight squeeze on his shoulder. He could tell Gavin was telling him to be quiet and wait.

The Reach Scientist spoke in her alien language, a strange assortment of chittering and clicking noises, and pointed to a spot on the wall that was missing a containment pod. The soldier pushed the containment pod to the open spot and placed it into the slot, making sure the red glass was facing the center console of the room. The Scientist moved to the center console and began uploading bio-readings of Jaime on the screen. Only an orange outline with the blue Scarab on the image was discernable, the script was entirely in the alien language. The Ambassador said something to the solider and they left the room, then the Ambassador, the Scientist, and Black Beetle had a discussion. The Scientist pointed to the monitor and said something else, ending the conversation, and all three of them left the room, the door closing behind them.

“Videtur,” Gavin said and all three of them became visible. Gavin took a few gasping breaths and took his hands off their shoulders.

“You alright?” Tim asked and placed his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. His face was scrunched up in concern.

“Just need a breather,” Gavin gasped out. “Using a lot of magic…I’ll be fine.”

Bart walked over to the containment pod with Jaime inside. He peered into the red glass, slightly seeing his own reflection in its surface. Right now, it looked like Jaime was sleeping, but Bart knew what sort of tortures were just up ahead on the Reach ship.

“Why are we here?” Bart asked in a quiet tone.

“This was when Jaime first learned of the Reach’s connection with his Scarab,” Tim explained.

“Are there any clue’s here that Tim?” Gavin asked and walked over to the computer console.

“If there are,” Tim mused while walking next to Gavin and looking at the screen. “I can’t read them, and since we are in a dream world, I can’t record them either.”

“Are we going to have to hide this entire time?” Tim asked.

“Yes and no,” Gavin explained. “We can also blend into his dreams where we can, we can even alter the dream when needed, but we have to be careful not to draw too much attention. Most bodies don’t like having multiple souls inside them and will fight back, plus we may have Reach tech to deal with.”

Bart walked over to the door leading out of the lab. He placed a hand on the grey metal and a flash of light enveloped the room. The three of them now stood in a school hallway, lit by florescent lighting and windows, lockers lining the walls with doors to classrooms every twenty feet or so.

“Was that me?” Bart asked, a slight blush on his cheeks as he turned to face the other two. Bart saw a man dressed in a polo and khakis approaching them. The group of them now wore everyday clothing, their superhero attire gone.

“And what makes you think you three can skip class?” The man asked them in a harsh tone.

“Sorry,” Gavin replied the quickest. “We were just heading back from the bathroom.”

“Well,” the man stared at them. “Get moving.”

The three of them turned and opened a random classroom door. The scene that was before them was a typical high school classroom, an older female teacher stood in front of the class reading from a textbook.

“Please take a seat,” she droned without even looking up from the pages of her book. The rest of the class glanced their way and then looked back towards the teacher. Jaime was sitting at the back of the class and gave them all a confused look as to why they were there. Luckily the back row was empty, so Bart quickly made his way to sit next to Jaime, then Tim, then Gavin.

“What are you doing here, ese?” Jaime leaned toward Bart and whispered. “And why are Gavin and Tim with you?”

“We’ve been looking for you,” Bart whispered back, barely able to contain his excitement as he slightly bounced in his seat.

“What would superheroes need me for?” Jaime asked.

Tim glanced up at the chalk board, the date read May 14, 2015. “We’re too early,” he whispered to both Bart and Gavin. “Ted Kord doesn’t die until July of this year, so this is before Jaime gets the Scarab.”

“One second hair-man-oh,” Bart said to Jaime and leaned toward Tim. “How does he know us if he doesn’t have the Scarab yet?”

“Because dreams don’t make sense,” Gavin explained. “Dreams take memories, stress, problems, and hopes and mashes them all together. They are incredibly hard to navigate.”

“How did you do it before?” Tim asked.

“Before it was just me entering their minds,” Gavin explained. “Plus, their injured states had way less dreams and way more black outs, so there weren’t too many obstacles to move through. I also didn’t delve too deeply, just looking for the past week or so.”

“Maybe one of you boys would like to answer my question,” the teacher said with a stern voice at Gavin, Tim, and Bart.

“We’re sorry,” Tim replied, getting giggles from the class. “What was the question again?”

“I asked when Robert E. Lee surrendered?” The teacher asked again.

“April 9, 1865,” Tim answered, earning a surprised look from both Bart and Gavin. “What?” He asked them with a shrug of his shoulders. “I like history.”

“Please refrain from talking, but that is correct,” the teacher replied and went back to teaching.

“Sonitu separa,” Gavin whispered, and the classroom’s noise disappeared, leaving only the back row’s voices unaffected. He then gripped the bridge of his nose and groaned. “I’m going to get a migraine soon.”

“Jaime, what’s important here?” Tim asked.

“It’s history class in school,” Jaime rolled his eyes. “Right now, a good grade is what’s important.”

The room darkened and Jaime looked out the window. A large beetle-shaped spaceship hovered near the school, blocking out the sun.

“That’s not good,” Jaime said to himself.

The room flashed in a bright white light and they found themselves sitting in another classroom, this time Jaime was younger, probably 12 or 13 years old. The teacher was pointing up to the chalkboard at a math equation.

(35 x 10) + 59

“Ok class,” the younger woman said. “We are going to learn about the order in which math equations are done. Does anyone know the answer to this problem and how they got there?”

Bart looked down at himself and saw that he was still himself, same as Gavin and Tim, they hadn’t changed in age.

Younger Jaime raised his hand.

“Yes Jaime?” The teacher beamed.

“The answer is 409!” Jaime said excitedly. “You do the part in the parenthesis first then add the rest.”

“Very good Jaime,” the teacher praised him.

“Does 409 mean anything to you guys?” Gavin asked, looking over at Bart and Tim.

The teacher’s head snapped to look at the intruders, her pleasant demeanor vanishing as she glared at them with malice.

“You guys shouldn’t be talking during class,” Jaime whispered to them.

The teacher opened her mouth again, but this time the alien language of the Reach came out of her mouth. She became covered in Blue Beetle’s armor and her hands formed into the pincer-like swords. She lunged at the group of boys.

“Leave my friends alone!” The 12-year-old Jaime jumped up and stretched his arms out to protect the three of them. As the teacher connected with Jaime, another bright white flash of light filled the room.

****

**New York City**

**May 14, 22:30 EDT**

The Reach Scientist looked up at her computer screen and noticed an alert pop up. She opened the alert and gasp. She pushed another button on her console and a communication screen opened to the Ambassador.

“Apologies sir, but there is a problem,” she addressed the Ambassador.

“What is it?” The Ambassador asked. “Can it not wait until morning?”

“It cannot,” the Scientist pushed a few buttons on her console to share her view with the Ambassador. “Our sensors on Blue Beetle seemed to have picked up three other brainwaves within his own mind. I believe someone is attempting to read his thoughts.”

“How would we solve this?” The Ambassador asked.

“I think it is wise to send Black Beetle to look around Blue Beetle’s house,” the Scientist explained. “Usually telepaths have a psychic range, so they would have to be nearby.”

“Then I will dispatch Black Beetle at once,” the Ambassador groaned. “See if you can do anything to slow them down from within and fill me in on any progress.”

“Understood,” the Scientist replied, and she turned off the communication device.

****

**El Paso**

**May 14, 21:43 MDT**

Bart, Gavin, and Tim found themselves in the Black Rock Hot Springs with Bria and Jaime. Thankfully the dream state Jaime was in switched them to swim trunks.

“Let me guess,” Bria said, “your little blue bundle of joy wanted to eliminate us?”

“How did you…” Jaime started.

“I was here when that thing landed on Earth,” Bria explained, “I was also the one that brought the scarab to be cleansed.”

“I remember this conversation,” Gavin muttered.

“Remember?” Bria turned to Gavin. “Unless you had some premonition and didn’t share it with me, this is the first time we’ve had this conversation.” Bria raised an eyebrow at Tim. “Who is that and when did they get here?”

The scene shifted slightly, rocking the boys like turbulence on a plane. They found themselves right next to the Hot Springs, at Bria’s dinner table.

“This is so not crash!” Bart complained and gripped his stomach.

“Not felling well Bart?” Jaime asked and looked at him with concern.

Bart looked up and met Jaime’s eyes. “I’m crash,” he said after a second too long of starting, causing him to blush slightly.

“Something here has to be a clue,” Tim said scanning the table. “There’s a lot of food here.”

“If you’ve got money,” Bria smirked. “Might as well spend it. Hodgkins really did increase the vegetables since Gavin’s entered the house.”

The Hot Spring began to bubble over and steam like a pot on a stove. Blue colored leeches slithered out of the spring, each had a bright yellow eye on the top of their bodies, towards the end that moved to the dinning room set. Bria and Jaime seemed oblivious to the danger slithering towards them while the other three jumped up from their seats and ran in the opposite direction, towards the desert.

“They’re gaining on us!” Tim yelled as the swarm of blue leeches closed the distance between themselves and the group.

A brown wooden door materialized about 100 feet in front of them.

“I guess we go through there!” Gavin shouted and they ran for the door.

Bart reached the door first and opened it, but since they were in the dream world, he didn’t have his superspeed, so Gavin and Tim barreled into him and fell through the door. The door closed itself behind them, the blue leeches only inches behind them. Bart looked up to see where they landed. They were in the Reyes household, but it looked different. Once they managed to untangle themselves from one another, they all stood up. Blue streamers were hung from the ceiling and throughout the room. The sweet smell of homemade baked goods filled the air. Bart saw Bianca holding a toddler who was struggling to get out of her grasp. Bianca looked pretty much the same as before, if a little younger. The toddler was a little girl with her hair pulled up into pigtails.

“Mamá, ¿Puedes levantar a Jaime?” Bianca asked while fighting the toddler.

“Claro que querida,” an elderly woman said as she walked by Bianca, patting her on the shoulder. “Milagro tiene espíritu,” she said as she tickled the toddler under the chin, getting a laugh.

The elderly woman slowly made her way up the stairs, Bart moving quietly behind her.

“Bart wait,” Gavin whispered but stopped himself from following when Milagro looked their way.

Bart saw the woman knock lightly on Jaime’s bedroom door and then open it without waiting for a response.

“♫Estas son las mañanitas,♫” the woman sang softly as she entered Jaime’s room. Bart looked into the room and saw Jaime, who had to be younger than ten years old, was sleeping in his bed, despite the fact it was close to noon according to the clock in his room. He was covered in red spots, which Bart remembered were called chickenpox. The elderly woman sand softly as she approached Jaime’s bed, shaking him gently as he woke up. “♫Que cantaba el Rey David, hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti. Despierta, mi Jaime, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.♫”

Jaime stirred awake, smiling up at the elderly woman. She helped him sit up and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

“♫Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte,♫” she sang another verse. “♫Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte, ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio, levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.♫”

“Abuela,” Jaime said as he broke off the hug and rubbed his eyes. “¿No tienes miedo de enfermarte?”

“No Jaime,” his Abuela answered. “No hay nada que puedas hacer que pueda lastimarme.” She stood up and turned toward the door, causing Bart to dive out of view in the hall. “Tu madre nos espera abajo.” She walked out of the room and back down the stairs.

Jaime followed behind her, after some stretching to wake up. He stepped out into the hallway and paused. He turned to face Bart. “Bart?” He asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know ah-mi-go,” Bart whispered. “Where am I?”

“Your Spanish is funny,” Jaime chuckled, causing Bart to blush. “This is my 9th birthday, it’s only my mom, little sister, and mi abuela. Dad is at a friend’s house because he’s never had the chickenpox. So, this birthday is just the four of us.” Jaime looked a little sad, but then perked up when he looked up into Bart’s eyes. “I’m glad you were able to make it though. My days are always better when you’re around.” Jaime walked down the stairs to join his family.

Bart was left standing there with a goofy grin on his face and blushing like a fiend. He didn’t realize how much Jaime enjoyed having him around. He quickly regained his composure when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and Gavin and Tim approached him.

“In here,” Bart whispered and pointed to Jaime’s room.

The three of them slipped into Jaime’s room and closed the door quietly.

“I think all the clues are pointing to the same thing,” Tim addressed the other two.

“Glad you’re picking up on the clues,” Gavin admitted.

“All the clues are pointing to 4 and 9,” Tim explained. “April 9th was the answer to the question in history class, the 4th month and 9th day, the math equation was 409, there were 4 people at the Hot Springs with 9 different food items on the table, and this is Jaime’s 9th birthday and there are 4 people present.”

“What do the numbers 4 and 9 mean?” Bart asked, bringing his hand to his chin to think.

“Maybe it’s the actual date,” Gavin suggested. “Did you guys do something on April 9th?”

“That was when Miss Martian read Green Beetle’s mind to confirm he was an ally,” Tim answered.

“Which means that is also when Green Beetle touched Jaime’s Scarab and Jaime said he turned it off,” Bart chimed in.

“So, we need to head to April 9th in Jaime’s memories,” Gavin concluded. “He’s trying to lead us there but is unable to tell us directly.”

Just then, the door to the hallway began to rattle.

“Does this feel very horror movie to anyone?” Tim asked Bart and Gavin.

The doorknob began to twist back and forth, as if someone was trying to come in. The door rattled more violently. Two loud bangs crashed into the door as the doorknob began twisting more sporadically.

Bart looked around the room and saw Jaime’s closet door.

“Guess we head out a different way then,” Bart shrugged and pointed to the closet door.

“That’s a closet,” Tim said dryly.

“This is a dream Tim,” Bart replied sarcastically. “We haven’t exactly followed any laws of physics so far.”

The three of them stood up and moved to the closet door and the door to the hallway began to creak under the strain of being bashed into.

Bart opened the door and a flash of bright white light enveloped them once again.

****

**El Paso (Bria)**

**May 14, 23:37 MDT**

Bria didn’t realize that watching people in a trance could be so boring. Back when she was soulless, she may have done her fair share of stalking, maybe a sketch or two of a sleeping victim to rattle them, or even hiding in a dark room and waiting for someone to come home, but this was not nearly as fun.

What caught her attention was a low thrumming sound from outside the truck. She peered outside and saw Black Beetle hovering about 20 feet above the road, his right hand turning into some sort of cylindrical device with a spinning piece on the end. He moved in a slow circle, so he must be scanning for something.

“Crap,” Bria whispered to herself. “Now I’ve got to play keep away and hope they finished their spell soon.”

Bria’s body vaporized into mist and moved through the cracks of the truck to the street outside. She moved to the next house over before reforming her body.

“I believe the recycling center is a few streets over!” Bria shouted up to Black Beetle. “I think they’re closed right now, but I’m pretty sure I can fit you through the mail slot.”

Black Beetle growled at her and changed his arm to his pincer-like sword instead of his scanner, his jetpack thrummed as it charged up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greek Translations  
> Ilíthioi mágoi kai ilíthia ámmos- Stupid mages and stupid sand
> 
> Latin Translations  
> Animabus nostris et nobis liberate conjunguntur- Free our souls and let us combine  
> Aperi mentibus nostris, quod liceat nobis transitum ostendere- Open our minds and allow our passage  
> Sonitu separa- Separate noise
> 
> Spanish Translations  
> Mamá, ¿Puedes levantar a Jaime?- Mom, can you get Jaime up?  
> Claro que querida- Sure thing dear  
> Milagro tiene espíritu- Milagro’s got spirit  
> Estas son las mañanitas Que cantaba el Rey David, hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti. Despierta, mi Jaime, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió- This is the morning song that King David sang because today is your saint’s day we’re singing it for you. Wake up, my Jaime, wake up, look it is already dawn, the birds are already singing, and the moon has set.  
> Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte. Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte, ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio, levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció- How lovely is the morning in which I come to greet you, we all came here with joy and pleasure to congratulate you. The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light, get up in the morning, look it is already dawn.  
> Abuela ¿No tienes miedo de enfermarte?- Grandma, aren’t you afraid of getting sick?  
> No hay nada que puedas hacer que pueda lastimarme- There is nothing you can do that can hurt me  
> Tu madre nos espera abajo- Your mother is waiting for us downstairs


	18. Id vs Ego

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has gore in it. Each section that contains any gore will have the !!!Gore Warning!!! marker. I wanted to showcase some more violent battles but wanted to be kind to those who don't like gore, so I made sure to mark it.

**El Paso**

**May 14, 23:40 MDT**

**!!!Gore Warning!!!**

Black Beetle powered up his thrusters and soared toward Bria at high speed.

 _Adjusting your Scarab’s nanotech to compensate for her enhanced strength,_ the Scientist said to Black through his Scarab.

Bria noticed that Black’s armor shimmered momentarily before he closed the distance between them. She smirked and readied herself, putting her left foot slightly behind her right foot to strengthen her stance.

Black growled as he slashed his pincer-sword out from his body, a motion that would have been a backhand if he was swinging his fist. The sword met her ribs, cutting through her black silk blouse and cutting into her skin, even if only superficially.

“You son of a bitch!” Bria snarked. “That was a $300 blouse! I see you learned a little something from last time.”

 _Increasing blade sharpness at the atomic level,_ the Scientist said.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve found a challenge,” Black taunted Bria. His blade shimmered for a moment before he got ready to swing it again. “Too bad you won’t be getting a cheap shot this time!” He brought his blade down in an overhanded motion.

Bria vaporized into mist before the blow landed, moving quickly behind him and reforming.

“Guess you haven’t fought too many vampires before,” Bria taunted. “We’re full of cheap tricks.” Bria swung her fist and hit Black Beetle between the shoulder blades. He stumbled forward slightly but quickly caught himself and turned to face her.

“My Scarab’s adjusted for your strength,” Black said with a smirk on his face. “It’s a shame really, I was hoping for a real fight.” He swung he blade at her again, but she again vaporized and dodged, reforming a few feet away from him.

 _Analyzing the chemical makeup of the cloud she becomes,_ the Scientist said. _It appears to be mostly water, a super-heated attack from your plasma cannon should cause a steam explosion and do serious damage._

“Nice to know I can take the kid gloves off,” Bria said with her own smirk. Her eyes began to glow, turning from their traditional blood red to a crimson red.

 _I’m seeing energy readings course through her body,_ the Scientist cautioned. _Proceed cautiously._

Bria pushed off the ground and came barreling for Black Beetle. He raised his blade to catch her midair, but again she vaporized before impact. His blade quickly transformed into his plasma cannon and fired into the air, through her mist-self. When the heat of the plasma hit her mist, it caused a small but loud explosion.

Bria let out an unearthly scream as she was scattered for a few moments before reforming on the sidewalk. She was kneeling and hunched over, her left side extremely injured from the blast. The left side of her head was burnt away down to the bone, which also sported a burnt black coloration. Anything made of flesh was gone, and her exposed skull showed her vampire fang. Her torso was also charred and exposed her rib cage and her left arm was gone, burnt away down to the shoulder joint. Her left leg sported blackened and cracked skin but was still mostly intact. Smoke rose from her body and she pushed off the ground with her right hand to stagger to a standing position.

“Gratitude for not ending the battle too soon,” Black said, and his plasma cannon retracted back to reform into his hand. “Surviving fourth degree burns is impressive.”

Bria turned to face him, giving him a death glare, made creepier with only one glowing red eye and the other an empty eye socket set into her skull. Her heart beat once, sending out a quick flash of red light. Her burnt edges of flesh became a healthy pink again. Veins, tendons, sinew, and muscles spread from her skin, covering her exposed bones. As they stretched out, her internal organs were also growing back, still unused from millennia of being dead, but still looking new and pristine. Her shoulder let out a sickening cracking sound and bone began to sprout from the joint, growing her left arm from nothing. Her eye growing back, starting as a simple red point of light, until she was able to glare at Black Beetle adequately. Once she was completely reformed, her shadow stretched over her and repaired her clothing.

“Your clothing also regenerates?” Black questioned.

“I’ve been caught one too many times with my pants down,” Bria shrugged. “Both literally and figuratively, a simple enchantment fixed that.”

 _She is a distraction!_ The Scientist scolded. _Leave her and find the ones invading Blue Beetle’s mind!_

“As fun as this has been,” Black started, “I came here on a mission.” He raised his right hand and formed his sonic cannon, firing rings of purple energy that came with a loud whirring noise.

Bria vaporized into mist, knowing a sonic attack couldn’t hurt her in this form.

Black quickly switched to his plasma cannon and fired, but Bria was ready this time. The mist reformed, but instead of Bria’s human form, she came back as a swarm of bats. With her new form, both much smaller than she normally was and nimble fliers, she was able to dodge the blast with ease. She closed the distance between them and swarmed him, lifting him off his feet and into the air. She carried him to the nearby desert, only in flight for a few seconds, but away from the moving truck and any bystanders. While midair, she became her human self again and clocked him with her left-hand square in the jaw.

Black was sent hurtling toward the ground, but his Scarab ignited his jetpack to prevent him from hitting the ground. Bria landed in front of him, roughly five feet away.

“You see Black,” Bria said with sass. “I am also here on a mission. But I’m fine with putting that on hold while I kick your ass.” Bria rolled her neck and shoulders, loosening herself up. “Care to see who is actually stronger? No tricks or gimmicks?” She entered a fighting stance and raised her fists like a boxer.

“Gladly,” Black growled and entered a similar stance.

****

**Jaime’s Mind**

**May 14, 23:40 MDT**

When the white light faded, Tim, Gavin, and Bart found themselves on the shore of some beach.

“Where are we now?” Gavin asked.

Bart looked around and saw that it was raining ash from the sky. The sky was just a blanket of dark grey clouds as far as the eye could see. He turned around and saw the ruins of Mount Justice, the same spot where he built the time machine to stop all of this from happening.

“We’re in the future,” Bart choked out, the waves quietly lapping against the sand behind them.

“Correct meat!” A voice said from above them.

They all looked up and saw Blue Beetle hovering in the air. Except it wasn’t the Blue Beetle that Tim or Gavin knew, it was the one from the future. He resembled Black Beetle more than anyone else, besides the color difference, but Bart knew it was Jaime, at least the future version of Jaime.

“Time to end this pointless mission,” Blue said to them. “This is inevitable.” He gestured to the landscape around them.

“Yeah,” Gavin said with a smirk, “I don’t think so. Veni fructum bellator!” Gavin’s eyes went black as his shadow stretched out behind him. A guttural cry came from within his shadow, like an injured creature forced to face an enemy. A black gauntleted hand reached up through his shadow and grabbed at the sand for a hold, then a second hand followed. Slowly an armored knight of pure shadow stepped out of Gavin’s shadow. The knight let out an anguished cry and leapt into the air at Blue Beetle. Gavin’s knees buckled and he began to fall, but Bart used his speed to catch him. “We have to find an exit from this memory before one of them declares a winner,” Gavin said through painful breaths.

Bart helped Gavin walk as Tim led them into the ruins of Mount Justice. The sound of metal clashing against metal sounded behind them as future Blue Beetle and Gavin’s shadow knight slammed into each other.

“What is that thing?” Bart asked as he supported most of Gavin’s weight. His arm was under Gavin’s left arm, wrapped around his back, and supporting him under the other arm. Gavin had his left arm around slung over Bart’s shoulders.

“I’ll tell you later,” Gavin strained. It was then that Bart realized that Gavin had a tear rolling down his cheek.

“I think I found something!” Tim called from ahead of them.

Bart and Gavin joined him and saw the time machine that Bart used to get to the past sitting in the middle of the ruined field.

“Crash!” Bart exclaimed. “That’s my time machine!”

“Then let’s get it fired up,” Gavin said.

The group of them moved toward the time machine, with the sound of battle growing more muffled behind them. Bart helped Gavin sit down on a nearby boulder sticking out of the ground and moved over to the time machine. He looked it over.

“Everything good?” Tim asked, coming up beside him to look.

“Yeah, its crash,” Bart said with his hand up to his chin, lost in thought.

“What is it?” Tim asked and looked at Bart.

“Setting this thing to a very specific time was tricky enough as it was before,” Bart pondered. “I don’t know if I can set it to a specific time again without help.”

“Bart…” A male voice came over the wind.

“Jaime?” Bart responded, maybe a little more wishfully than he should have been in front of Tim and Gavin.

“Help me…” Jaime’s voice said again on the wind.

Bart looked back down at the time machine’s control panel, his eyes stinging with tears. He had to figure this out for Jaime. He closed his eyes tight and conjured up his memories of Neutron helping him before. He blinked his eyes open and wiped the tears from them before kneeling in front of the control panel and getting to work.

“You remember how to do this, right?” Tim asked and watched Bart work.

“It doesn’t matter if I remember or not,” Bart said through gritted teeth. “Blue needs me to do this, so I’ll do this.” Bart’s hands worked furiously at the control panel, twisting knobs, connecting wires, and setting levels to what he hoped would be the correct time.

“I think we need to hurry,” Gavin strained. “My warrior is losing his fight.” The sounds of battle were not only growing fainter from the distance, but also the gap between hits was growing longer.

“We’re crash!” Bart said with certainty before standing up. “But, uh, this thing only seats one person.”

“This is a dream!” Gavin shouted. “Just open the door and we’ll all climb in.”

Bart opened the door to the time machine while Tim helped Gavin walk over to it. The three of them climbed inside of it, which was surprisingly a very tight fit. They were packed in like sardines.

“Dream huh?” Tim sassed.

“I don’t make the rules!” Gavin sassed back.

“Get off my foot!” Bart yelled.

The time machine sprung to life and the three of them were sent hurtling into a white light.

****

**New York City**

**May 15, 02:12 EDT**

The door opened to the Scientist’s lab and the Ambassador came storming in.

“What is it now?!” The Ambassador growled. He looked up at the screens and saw Black Beetle battling Bria through Black Beetle’s eyes. He also saw the mental readings from Blue Beetle.

“Black Beetle is distracted with his fight with Bria Reynolds,” the Scientist reported. “While the people reading Blue Beetle’s mind are left unchecked.”

“People?” The Ambassador questioned.

“That is correct,” the Scientist said and pushed a few buttons on the console. The screen changed to show pictures of Tim (in his Robin gear), Gavin, and Bart (in his Impulse gear) next to the scans from Jaime. “The Scarab was able to lock down which people are in Blue Beetle’s mind based on brainwaves. While he works to slow them down, they have proven to be elusive.” She chose her words carefully. “I suggest sending Green Beetle to prevent the mind reading.”

“I guess that would be wise,” the Ambassador groaned. “Fine, send Green Beetle to find the intruders. Do we know what they’ve learned so far?”

“Negative,” the Scientist answered. “While we control the host’s mind, we don’t have visual imaging of their thoughts and dreams. They seem to be around the hippocampus and amygdala, so they are attempting to access a memory. But I am unsure as to which memory.”

“I guess the surest action would be to eliminate them,” the Ambassador mused. “Have Green Beetle do that when he arrives. Can we not wake Blue Beetle up?”

“Negative,” the Scientist said. “It appears the sorcery of Gavin Cethin is keeping him asleep.”

“Then let’s remove him from play,” the Ambassador said. “It was nice having him heal Blue Beetle, but there are other ways to do that. Now I have an interview in the morning, so I am off to rest. Make sure this is taken care of.”

“Of course,” the Scientist bowed slightly as he left the lab.

****

**El Paso Desert**

**May 15, 00:36 MDT**

**!!!Gore Warning!!!**

Bria stepped back and out of the way of Black Beetle’s right hook. He left himself open with his overextension and she seized the moment, letting loose three quick jabs in rapid succession directly into his right ribs.

Black Beetle groaned as the hits of another superpowered individual bruised him. He knew that his armor could take most of the punishment, but he’d be feeling it tomorrow. He readied himself again and swung his left arm in an uppercut.

Bria used her footwork to slide back just in time and dodge the uppercut. She grabbed onto Black’s wrist, spun around on her heels, and threw him over her shoulder. Black landed on his back and she immediately fell to the ground, still holding onto his left arm. She maintained a death grip with both hands on his left wrist and threw both her legs over Black’s chest, keeping a leg on either side of his left arm, and dug her heels into his right shoulder, forcing it to the ground. She leaned back and applied pressure to the arm bar she successfully set up in Black Beetle.

“Ahh!” Black Beetle screamed as he was unable to relieve the pressure to his shoulder, no matter how much he fought against Bria.

“I thought your armor compensated for my strength!” Bria taunted as she put more pressure onto her hold. There was a sickening cracking sound as Black Beetle’s shoulder popped out of joint.

“AHH!” Black Beetle screamed louder as his shoulder dislocated. His armor shifted and produced a plasma cannon on the chest, right under Bria’s legs. The cannon fired its purple beam of energy up into the sky.

Bria screamed and let go of Black Beetle. She rolled away from him and looked down at her legs. The pants were burned away, and her skin was black, charred, and flaking away from 3rd degree burns. She willed more of her stored blood to course through her system, healing her legs and her shadow repairing her pants. She stood up and faced Black Beetle, who was also standing up, but holding his left arm with his right arm.

“I thought we weren’t using any tricks?” Bria seethed at him.

“Apologies,” Black Beetle replied through gritted teeth. He moved his right hand to grab onto his left shoulder and pushed up and in, causing another harsh popping sound as he put his shoulder back into place. “My Scarab wanted to make sure I kept my arm.” He flexed the fingers on his left and winced a little at the pain. “That was an interesting maneuver.”

“An arm bar,” Bria smirked as she answered him. “A technique as old as the pankration. No one has been able to get out of that move fairly ever since I learned it, at least not through brute force.” Bria saw some movement in the sky. It was small from this distance, but it was unmistakably Green Beetle flying over the desert toward Jaime’s house. _Shit,_ she thought to herself. _Now I’ve got to try and distract two of these motherfuckers._

“Shall we go again?” Black Beetle asked and readied himself into another boxer’s stance.

“How about some tricks this time?” Bria goaded him with her question. “See who is quicker on the draw?” Bria used her index finger’s nail to cut a line into the palm of her right hand. A small line of blood came trickling out into her hand.

“Whatever you say, meat,” Black Beetle responded, and his right hand transformed into his plasma cannon.

As Black’s hand was transforming, Bria flung her right arm up towards Black’s face. The blood flew across the small distance between them and landed on Black’s visor. The blood sizzled as it began eating through the protective armor and sent a stream of smoke into the air.

“Ahh!” Black Beetle cried as he raised his plasma cannon blindly toward Bria and fired.

Bria was already moving toward Black, and before his cannon had fired, she was behind him and pushed his elbow up to aim the cannon at Green Beetle. The purple beam of energy fired up through the air and hit Green Beetle before he could even react. Green Beetle came crashing to the ground with a solid thud. Bria then grabbed Black by the armor protrusions above his shoulders, picked him up, and threw him toward Green Beetle.

Black’s Scarab repaired his visor and activated his jetpack before Black hit the ground, causing him to hover about a foot off the ground.

“Didn’t think I’d let Green there pass us by, did you?” Bria taunted as both Beetles stood to face her.

“This is not my mission brother,” Green Beetle said in his monotone voice.

“Another mission?” Bria feigned ignorance. “You Beetles sure are busy tonight. Too bad I’m looking for a fight tonight, otherwise we could just go our separate ways.” Bria surged toward the two Beetles, both of which changed both of their arms to their pincer-swords and raised them in defense. Bria met their blades with her hands, grabbing onto Black with her left hand and Green with her right hand, but she could only grab one sword each, which left the other sword free and her defenses wide open.

Green Beetle attempted to pull out of her grip to finish his mission, but she held on tightly, causing some dents to appear in the metal armor.

Black Beetle took the opportunity to attack her. He impaled her through the chest with his free sword, causing Bria to cough up blood, but she didn’t let go. He pulled his sword free, hearing the sickening sound of ribs breaking as he did. Her wound closing as he pulled his arm up for another slash. This time, he removed her left leg at the knee, bones cracking and flesh tearing away. As her lower leg fell to the ground, it disintegrated into dust and a new leg began growing itself.

Bria could feel the strain on her regeneration powers, she was going to need to feed soon. She had to keep these two locked down until Gavin’s spell was done, _Damn all this magic. Leave it to mages to turn something simple into an all-night production._

****

**Jaime’s Mind**

**May 15, 01:04 MDT**

With a flash of white light, the time machine appeared outside of STAR Labs, unfortunately, it appeared about five feet above the ground. It came crashing down to the ground with a loud clang! All the boys inside the time machine groaned as it hit the ground. Tim reached for the door latch and pulled it open. Tim and Gavin came spilling out of the time machine, Tim hitting the ground face first and Gavin falling on top of him.

“Well that was totally moded,” Bart said as he pulled himself from the seat in the time machine.

“Says the person who got to sit the whole way,” Gavin replied as he pulled himself off of Tim and stood up. He reached a hand down and helped Tim to his feet.

“As far as anyone else is concerned,” Tim said as he brushed the dirt off his uniform, “that never happened.”

“Sounds good to me,” Gavin agreed.

Bart looked around, they were definitely outside STAR Labs, the sun was shining, but it was still coming over the horizon. Birds were singing and the sky was a shade of pink hear the mountains.

“You gotta help me!” Jaime said in the distance.

“Blue,” Bart gasped. He looked off in the direction of Jaime’s voice and saw Jaime, fully encased in the Blue Beetle armor talking to Green Beetle.

Tim grabbed Bart’s shoulder to get his attention. When Bart made eye contact, Tim brought his index finger up to his lips in a shushing motion. The three of them made their way over to the two Beetles talking, making sure to keep the bushes between them.

“Are you sure you want me to try this?” Green Beetle asked in his signature monotone voice.

“I’ll try anything to keep this Scarab from taking control!” Jaime replied desperately.

“Then turn around and I will begin the procedure,” Green instructed.

Jaime turned around and Green put his hands up to Jaime’s Scarab. Green’s fingers elongated and merged with the Blue Scarab. The group watched as the image of Jaime split, with Jaime on the left and the Scarab on the right. The Scarab grew in size, eventually becoming the suit of armor while Jaime’s image faded until he was translucent and nearly invisible. The images merged back together, and Green removed his fingers off of Blue’s Scarab.

A white flash of light enveloped the area again and the boys found themselves back on the Reach ship, in the lab were Jaime was brought to initially.

Bart looked around and saw Jaime in one of the pods along the wall. He made his way over to Jaime at superspeed, leaving Tim and Gavin momentarily confused, until they saw where he was going. Tim made his way over to the computer console at the center of the room and Gavin watched the door leading to the hall.

“Jaime,” Bart said to the sleeping body of Jaime in the pod. He placed his right hand on the red tinted glass.

“Bart?” Jaime replied sleepily. Jaime’s eyes blinked open and looked around not finding anything to focus on until he saw Bart. A rush of adrenaline shot through Jaime and he was energized. His eyes shot open and he placed both his hands on the red glass. “Bart! Help me get out of here!”

Bart felt his heart skip a beat and his breath caught in his throat. He looked down at the control panel for the pod, but nothing made sense to him. He never opened one of these before. Bart reached down for the large red button and pushed it. Nothing happened. Bart pushed a few other buttons on the pod, but they made no sound and didn’t trigger anything.

“This is so not crash!” Bart shouted in frustration. “Cover your face!” Bart put his hand on the glass and began to vibrate his hand at superspeed, hoping to shatter it, but after a minute, nothing happened.

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” Tim called to Bart. “According to this, the Scarab is back on mode and has complete control over Jaime’s body. I can even see the type of signal it is transmitting to the Reach.”

“I knew something wasn’t right!” Bart said to Jaime, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

“Bart, thanks for noticing,” Jaime said through the glass, his eyes also stinging with tears. “Remember what Bria said, she was there when the Beetle was cleansed last time. You need to talk to her!”

“I’m not leaving you here!” Bart spat back. “It’s my mission to stop the Reach from putting you back on mode and I failed!”

“Hermano,” Jaime started. Bart didn’t realize how much he missed hearing Jaime call him that. “Like I said before, you have your family and friends to help you. The fact that you know I’m trapped here is way better than before.”

There was a sudden bang on the metal door to the lab.

“I think it’s time to go!” Gavin shouted to Bart and Tim.

“I promise to get you out of here!” Bart cried, placing his hand back on the glass.

“I don’t doubt it, ese,” Jaime said and placed his hand opposite of Bart’s. He gave Bart a warm smile.

“Sit finis magicae,” Gavin spoke, and the room began to darken.

The banging on the metal door became distant and Jaime began to fade from view. Bart felt like he’s been dunked in ice water again, but this time when he opened his eyes, he was in the back of the moving truck with Gavin and Tim. His cheeks were wet with tears, which he quickly wiped away as he saw Gavin and Tim come to.

“Where’s Bria?” Gavin looked around. The deep shadows under his eyes were telling of his fatigue from using a lot of magic.

Tim lifted his left arm and opened his holographic computer. He input the signal data he saw from the Reach ship and a little image of a satellite dish appeared and began moving in a circle.

“I’m detecting three different Reach signals right now,” Tim said. “One is Blue,” he pointed to the map on his image, “the other two are nearby in the desert,” he pointed to the other two signals.

“That’s probably where Bria is,” Gavin sighed and rolled his eyes.

“It looks like Blue is moving now,” Tim said. “Time to get out of here.”

“Redi ad nos, et Bria Wayne Manerium,” Gavin spoke, his eyes completely black again. The shadows in the truck grew darker, completely blocking out all vision. 

****

**Wayne Manor, Gotham**

**May 15, 03:20 EDT**

**!!!Gore Warning!!!**

When light started to creep back into view, the boys found themselves sitting at the dining room table at Wayne Manor. Gavin swayed forward but managed to keep his head from hitting the table.

“It’s about damn time!” Bria exclaimed. The boys all turned to see her standing near them, by the table. Her right hand was missing, blood pouring from the wound onto the hardwood floor, and her face, neck, and chest were blackened, smoking, and flaking from third degree burns.

“Did you have a good time at least?” Gavin asked with a smirk.

“Some of the best violence I’ve had in a while,” Bria admitted. The stump where her hand should be let out a cracking noise and bone and flesh began to grow back. Her skin and clothing returning to normal across her burned portions as she spoke.

“That’s not crash,” Bart said while turning pale.

“Next time I get to go on a violent mission though,” Bria said while flexing her newly grown hand. “I don’t want a keep away mission, I’d like to be able to move around and just hurt things to my heart’s content. Got any blood around here?”

“I don’t think so,” Tim answered after a moment of stunned silence.

“Hunting is better anyway,” Bria said and spun on her heels toward the front of the manor. “I’ll see you all shortly. I worked up an appetite.” With that, Bria walked out of the manor and into Gotham.

“Let’s tell Nightwing what we learned!” Bart said with renewed vigor.

“He’s on his own mission right now,” Tim reminded Bart. “Once he comes back, we’ll tell him that Jaime is under Reach control.”

“Darn it!” Bart blurted out and lightly hit himself on the head. “Jaime told me to talk to Bria about some sort of cleansing ritual. Maybe I can still catch her.”

“I wouldn’t,” Gavin warned. “She’s hungry right now and you don’t want to see her feed when she’s hungry. She’ll be back soon, so we can get the details from her then.” Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Let’s just take the time to rest and build up some strength again,” Tim said as Alfred walked into the dining room.

“Everything go well Master Drake?” Alfred asked and spotted the pool of blood on the floor.

“Yeah Alfred,” Tim answered and followed Alfred’s eyes to the pool of blood. “I’ll clean that up if you could get Gavin some Tylenol?”

“Certainly, Master Drake,” Alfred said and moved into the kitchen. Tim got up and followed Alfred, leaving Gavin and Bart alone at the table.

“Everything good Bart?” Gavin asked as he saw the worry come across Bart’s face.

“No, everything is not good,” Bart grumbled and put his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. “Jaime is on mode and we couldn’t crash it in there.”

“At least we know he’s on mode now,” Gavin consoled him. “Now we can take the proper steps forward to fix it.”

“But he’s still trapped in there while we figure out a solution,” Bart didn’t like how whiny he sounded, but he was trying his best to keep his emotions reigned in. He could feel his chest hurting and his eyes stinging.

“I’m not going to tell you not to worry,” Gavin said and made sure to make eye contact with Bart. “People worry for the ones they care about, that’s natural.” Bart blushed slightly. “But normal people don’t have superpowers. Normal people don’t travel through time to save people. Normal people don’t have friends with magic, or alien tech, or super detectives. You have a lot more help than a normal person and we are going to make sure you succeed on your mission and Jaime gets out of this in one piece.”

Bart smiled at Gavin, he really needed to hear that right now. He wiped his eyes again and took a deep breath. He may not have been able to save Jaime right now, but he had plenty of people to help him do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Latin Translations
> 
> Veni fructum bellator- Come forth warrior  
> Sit finis magicae- Let the magic end  
> Redi ad nos, et Bria Wayne Manerium- Return us and Bria to Wayne Manor


	19. Heart Pounding

**Wayne Manor, Gotham**

**May 15, 07:13 EDT**

***The Reach ship’s red lights cast an eerie glow in the lab, casting long shadows off the pods that lined the walls. Bart stood by the door, his spandex super suit clinging to him as he was just freed from his own electric torture pod. He glanced in the room and saw sparks of electricity arcing from metallic arms just outside a pod along the wall, he could hear Jaime screaming from inside the pod. The Reach Scientist was at the control console, monitoring the reports her test was producing. Bart bolted forward at superspeed and shoulder checked the Scientist, sending her flying from her spot, she collided with a pod and collapsed to the floor in a heap. Bart moved at superspeed again and ripped all the metallic arms from their perches, making sure that they couldn’t send any more electricity into Jaime.

“Thanks, hermano,” Jaime gasped out as he got control of his breathing again. “Now get me out of here!”

“No problemo,” Bart said with a smirk. “Got you out of one of these before, shouldn’t be an issue now.” Bart looked down at the controls and realized they had changed from before.

“Is there a problem ese?” Jaime asked and started to look worried.

“Nope, totally crash on this end,” Bart reassured him while glancing over the buttons. He pushed the button he thought he knew was the release one. The interior of the pod started to flash with a red light.

“Integration complete,” a female robotic voice chimed from the pod. “Commencing phase two, scout activation.”

“Ahh!” Jaime yelled as he arched his back. Bart saw the Scarab expand its armor and encase Jaime. Jaime looked at Bart, panic in his eyes, until his face was covered with the faceplate. Once the Blue Beetle armor was completely in place, Jaime went back to a standing position and was still.

“Blue?” Bart asked tentatively.

“Phase two complete,” the female robotic voice chimed in again. “Commencing phase three, servant of the Reach.”

The pod shuddered as it opened. A seam appeared from top to bottom down the middle of the glass and metal door. Each segment opening in succession from top to bottom. Once the pod was open, Blue stepped out. As he emerged from the pod, he changed from the Blue Beetle Bart knew in this time to the Blue Beetle Bart knew from the future.

“Time to put an end to your pointless mission once and for all,” the older Blue Beetle said to Bart.

Bart stepped back and tripped over something. He fell to the ground, using his hands to catch himself from hitting his head. His hands felt something different than the floor of the Reach ship, he gripped whatever it was and pulled it up in front of him. His hand held a fistful of grey ash, but he also noticed he was wearing a different glove than his Impulse suit. He looked down at himself and saw he was wearing his clothing from the future, black fingerless gloves, black and white sneakers, dark blue tattered jeans, grey t-shirt, and dark green jacket. He glanced at the thing he tripped over, and the broken body of Tim stared back at him with lifeless eyes. Bart gasped and looked around, Gavin, Bria, Nightwing, and Wally were all around the area, lifeless on the ground.

The sound of shifting metal got Bart’s attention again and he looked back up at Blue Beetle, who was now his teenage self in the armor, with a plasma cannon pointed at Bart’s head.

“The Reach cannot be stopped,” Blue said with certainty.

“Jaime please!” Bart begged as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Guess your mission was a failure,” Blue taunted. “Now it’s time to take this world to its inevitable end.” Blue fired the plasma cannon, sending out a beam of light blue energy.***

Bart jolted awake. He looked around and saw that he was in Wayne Manor still, in the living room. He remembered that Tim said Nightwing would be back shortly and they could at least sit comfortably on the couches and chairs while they waited. They had all fallen asleep waiting for Nightwing, he was on a dark brown cloth couch, Gavin was on the other end of his couch, sleeping in the fetal position, Tim was on a matching chair across the coffee table from them, his head slumped down as he slept, but his legs were up on a footrest. They all had blankets laid over them.

“Those nightmares will kill you,” Bria said, causing Bart to jump as he didn’t see her near the archway to the dining room. She chuckled at him being startled. “Relax kid, I don’t mean literally, you’ll just run yourself ragged.”

“Sorry if I kept you awake,” Bart said and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I don’t sleep,” Bria replied with a shrug. “At least it’s not required anymore. I can if I want to or if my injuries are too great.”

“Did Nightwing come back last night?” Bart asked, pulling the blanket off himself and swinging his legs off the couch and placing his feet onto the floor.

“No,” Bria answered. “I’ve inspected every room in this mansion and it’s just us and Alfred.”

“I’m going to head for a shower,” Bart said as he stood up.

“Knock yourself out,” Bria replied. “I’m going to wait for these night owls to wake up and see if I can scare them like I scared you.” Bria chuckled to herself as Bart made his way out of the living room.

Bart worked his way to the guest bedroom that he stayed in previously and hopped in the shower. The hot water and steam helped clear his mind of the horrible dream he just had. _I can still save Jaime,_ he thought to himself. _Bria has the answers we need_. Once he finished his shower, he threw back on his clothing, as he didn’t plan on spending the night, and he made his was back out to the living room. Gavin and Tim were both awake, but still groggy from their less than restful sleep. Bria was sitting in a chair next to Tim’s chair.

“So, Bria,” Bart started, earning the gaze of everyone in the room. “You said before that you were part of the cleansing thing to fix Blue in the past, right?”

“Not quite,” Bria corrected. “I don’t do magic; I was the one who brought Blue to be cleansed. My sister, Tali, was the one who cleansed him. Her and a bunch of chanting priests, smelly incense, a bunch of instruments, and the temple it was all done in.”

“This temple wouldn’t happen to be in Bialya would it?” Tim asked and wiped the sleepiness from his eyes.

“I don’t honestly remember,” Bria shrugged and rolled her eyes. “National borders changed so much over the years. I know it is somewhere in what is now called the Middle East, so if Bialya is there, then I suppose so.”

“Good to know we can come to you for history and not geography,” Gavin sassed and yawned. “Thanks for the blankets by the way.”

“You don’t know if that was me or Alfred,” Bria said and gave Gavin a sideways look.

“Alfred usually wakes us up,” Tim chimed in. “He’d rather we sleep in a bed, since he usually does some cleaning in the morning.”

“It’s nice to know that you care,” Gavin teased Bria.

“As fun as this is,” Bart interrupted before Bria could banter with Gavin. “What was that ritual and why did you help cleanse Blue in the past?”

“The ritual called on the goddess Isis,” Bria explained. “My sister was her high priestess, still is to my knowledge but I haven’t seen her in years.” Bria saw Bart getting impatient and decided to not go off on a tangent. “With Ancient Egyptians revering scarabs, beetles, and animals in general, a lot of their spells could summon, augment, or heal them. So, since this Reach Scarab looked like an animal, they used a healing spell on it, to hopefully make it less homicidal, as it had an issue with murdering people in the past. They thought it was a gift from Khepri or Ra, it depends on which part of Egypt’s era and region you were from. They thought it was another god or goddess sent from Ra to exact vengeance, like Sekhmet, so they thought by healing it of its bloodlust, they would appease Ra. At the time, I was under the magical control of my sister and they needed my strength to battle against Blue. I barely managed to win that battle, as I was a lot younger then and didn’t know the full extent of my powers. I brought Blue to the temple and had to hold him in place for the ritual to work. Unknown to my sister, the cleansing ritual removed all foreign control over those in the circle, including me. So once the ritual was complete, I was free and got out of there. As much as I wanted revenge, I was outnumbered and in the same room as the person who controlled me before, so I needed to regroup. What they did with Blue after that, I don’t know, but the ritual worked as there were no more killings from the Scarab.”

“Calling on a goddess,” Gavin sighed. “That kind of magic is extremely potent. I assume your sister had years of study to pull that off?”

“She wears an ankh,” Bria said. “It makes her immortal and amplifies her magic through Isis. But yeah, she trained to be a priestess from little on up.”

“What’s an ankh?” Bart asked, earning another glance from everyone in the room. “Sorry, again a lot of history was lost in the future.” He blushed slightly.

“It’s like a cross,” Tim answered. “But the top part isn’t a straight line up, it’s a loop. It really isn’t used that much nowadays, except in Egyptian museums or souvenirs.”

“It’s actually a very useful symbol for any spell involving necromancy,” Gavin chimed in. “It’s a symbol for life and rebirth, so healing spells, communicating with the dead, even spells raising the dead are all helped by using the symbol.”

“Doctor Fate’s spells use the ankh as its symbol as well,” Bria added. “Although his spells are a little flashy for my taste.”

“Can your sister do the ritual again?” Bart asked as he tried to think of what to do next.

“HA!” Bria let out a sudden laugh. “I’m sure she could, but she’d never do anything for me, except try to kill me.”

“Could you do the ritual Gavin?” Bart asked, getting a little more desperate.

“I could see if there is anything in my family’s spell book,” Gavin answered and brought his hand up to his chin to think. “They did have a spell to put a soul back in a body and they have some more advanced spells for resurrection, so I could possibly find something similar, but I’m not sure I’d have the power to pull something like that off.”

“We have to do something!” Bart shouted and threw his arms out in frustration.

“We may have just got the last piece of the puzzle we needed,” Tim said calmly. Everyone looked at him, awaiting elaboration. “Batgirl, Wondergirl, Bumblebee, and Miss Martian found a temple in Bialya with scarab imagery on a mission. Batgirl took holographic images of everything and Doctor Fate said it was an ancient cleansing ritual, but he couldn’t do the spell because it used magic of Earth origin. Zatanna has been working through the spell to see if she can do it, but she keeps hitting roadblocks. Maybe with your knowledge,” he nodded to Bria, “and your family’s spell book,” he gestured to Gavin, “she may be able to perform the ritual.”

“Crash!” Bart exclaimed and fist pumped with both hands. “Time to crash that Scarab’s mode!”

The front door to the manor opened and a conversation could be heard from the doorway.

“This isn’t what we agreed to!” Wally yelled.

“Missions never go as planned!” Nightwing shouted back. “You know this Wally!” Just then Nightwing and Wally turned the corner and saw everyone in the living room, which brought an abrupt end to their argument. Nightwing was in his superhero gear, but Wally was in blue jeans, red sneakers, and a red t-shirt.

“Hey cuz!” Bart happily exclaimed and burst forward at superspeed to wrap Wally in a tight hug. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Hey Bart,” Wally strained to say while in the vice grip. “I was just coming to Gotham to visit Paula and figured I’d see Dick first.” Wally managed to free himself from Bart’s hug, a small smile on his face.

“Everything go well last night?” Nightwing asked the group.

“Just peachy,” Bria deadpanned. “Funny how things work out when a traitor isn’t in the group.”

“Hey!” Bart raised his voice and pointed a finger at Bria. “Blue isn’t a traitor! He’s a prisoner of the Reach!”

“Sorry,” Bria said with a smirk and raised her arms in mock defense. “What I should have said is, ‘Funny how things work out when someone criminally insane like the Joker doesn’t show up.’ Better?”

“I can fill you in,” Tim chimed in to Nightwing. “I think Bria and Gavin need to head to Zatanna, I think they could really help with her spell research. Bart can head home so the Garricks don’t worry.”

“Oh!” Bart gasped and pulled out his phone. “I completely forgot to let them know how the mission went.”

“Not a problem Bart,” Wally said. “I talked to them this morning and they knew you were doing some sort of mission with Dick. We can give them a call on our way to the zeta tube.”

“Thanks!” Bart sighed with relief; he really didn’t want the Garricks to be sitting there worried about him. Just then, Bart’s stomach growled, causing him to blush.

“How about some breakfast?” Wally asked with a chuckle. “There’s a great waffle place on the way to Paula’s.”

“Sounds crash!” Bart replied and then turned to the room. “Catch up with you guys later! Keep me updated on that ritual.”

“Will do,” Gavin replied with a smile.

Bart and Wally worked their way out of Wayne Manor and into Gotham City.

****

**Gotham City**

**May 15, 09:03 EDT**

Bart and Wally took their seats in the small eating establishment. Bart looked down at the menu and saw the name of the place was “Caroline’s Diner” and it certainly had a small family owned business feel to it, comfortable seating, secondhand table ware and light fixtures, and only two waitresses manning the whole place. Bart opened the menu and saw that the most expensive item on the whole thing was steak and eggs for $8.99.

“Crash!” Bart exclaimed as he glanced over the menu. “This place is so cheap! How did you manage to find this place?”

“It’s right next to West Mercy Hospital,” Wally answered and gestured out the window to the large Emergency Ambulance Bay on the front of the grey hospital. “Stay in the superhero life long enough and you learn where all the best places near to hospitals are.” Wally picked up his menu and opened it.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel the mode,” Bart apologized and lowered his menu to look at Wally.

“You didn’t,” Wally lowered his own menu and smirked at Bart. “Just a fact of life, even non-superheroes have to go to hospitals from time-to-time.” Wally was about to bring his menu back up in front of his face when he realized that Bart turned to look out the window at the hospital, looking a bit forlorn. “Everything alright Bart?”

“No,” Bart sighed and looked back at Wally. He noticed that Wally was looking worried and intently at him. “I mean, it’s totally crash now, but I feel like we got the answer to the question we’ve been asking but now we don’t know how to fix it.”

“What can I get you two boys?” The waitress asked the two of them as she raised her pen to her notepad. She had an older style, mustard yellow and brown striped waitress uniform, her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her silver rimmed glasses over her brown eyes.

“A cup of coffee for me,” Wally answered her. “A cup of orange juice for him,” he gestured at Bart, “and a stack of three pancakes each. That should get us started while we decide if we need anything else.” Wally smiled up at the waitress as she jotted down their order and made her way to the kitchen. “What question did you have answered?” Wally asked Bart after the waitress left.

“We needed to know if Jaime was back on mode,” Bart explained, talking with his hands. “Like, a slave to the Reach back on mode. Thanks to Gavin, we found out that Jaime is trapped in his own mind by the Scarab, but we couldn’t do anything while we were in there. Bria has the answer on how to free Jaime, but she doesn’t have to ability to do it herself. I just feel so moded right now!” Bart could hear his own voice getting higher pitched and breaking with emotion as he explained it to Wally, but he couldn’t do anything to fix that. He felt like he was failing at his mission and that the future was nowhere near what he hoped it would be. Bart could feel his eyes stinging again and he hated how weak he felt with how much crying he’d done since coming to the past. He put his face in his hands to try and hide how flustered he was in front of Wally and tried taking a deep breath to calm himself, even if it was a bit shaky.

Wally reached over and put a hand on Bart’s arm, causing the younger boy to bring his hands down to look at him.

“It’s going to be ok,” Wally said in a level tone and kept eye contact with Bart. “From what I heard this morning, Zatanna is working on a solution. When Z works her mojo, there’s nothing she can’t do. And from everything you just said, Bria and Gavin can help her with the spell.”

“It’s just been hard to get anyone to believe me,” Bart choked out. “I knew something wasn’t right and only a handful of people would even listen, really only Superboy and Tim, and I’m not entirely sure they believed me at first either.”

“Maybe they didn’t believe you at first,” Wally said with a shrug, keeping a hand on Bart’s arm and maintaining eye contact. “But you stuck to your guns and now everyone knows you were right. Now the next step of fixing it can take place.” Wally saw the waitress coming back to their table with their drinks and food. “Better look at this menu quick and decide what we want to eat,” he said with a smirk and picked up his menu.

Both ordered larger meals, and the waitress disappeared to put their orders in.

“What does ‘stuck to your guns’ mean?” Bart asked after he swallowed a mouthful of pancakes drenched in syrup.

“Oh,” Wally chuckled as he cut his pancakes up. “It means you kept doing what you thought was right, even when everyone else was telling you otherwise.”

“Crash!” Bart exclaimed and kept working on his pancakes. “So, who is Paula?” Bart asked with a mouthful of food.

“Artemis’ mom,” Wally answered somberly. “She’s having a really rough time recently and I just want to be there for her.”

“Sorry,” Bart said with a lot less enthusiasm. “I didn’t mean to bring up anything you don’t want to.”

“It’s no problem,” Wally sighed and took a drink of his coffee. “Unfortunately, stuff like this happens with the superhero gig.”

“Do you want any company with Paula?” Bart asked sincerely.

“No thanks,” Wally answered. “I just let her show me photo albums and tell me stories about Artemis, then we talk about anything that comes to mind.”

“Are you crash?” Bart asked in a surprisingly serious tone. “I know I have my own problems right now, but I’m here if you wanted to talk.”

“Thanks Bart,” Wally said with a warm smile. “But I’m good right now. I think these visits with Paula really help.”

They both finished their breakfasts in relative silence, bringing up some idle chitchat here and there, but simply enjoying good food and company.

****

**Central City**

**May 15, 11:54 CDT**

Bart ran into Central City a little bit before lunch. He couldn’t stop thinking about the wonderful spread Mrs. Garrick would have waiting for him and Mr. Garrick. _At least she knows how much speedsters love to eat_ , he thought to himself. As Bart blurred through the city at superspeed, he came across STAR Labs building in Central City, it was very different from the one in Taos. This was built like a skyscraper, each floor a row of window that shone in the sunlight, at least they should have been, instead the building was a sickly red color and cop cars and SWAT vans were forming a perimeter around the block.

“What’s the problemo officer?” Bart said as he skidded to a halt next to the police officer giving out orders to his men.

“Geez kid!” The officer exclaimed as he brought a hand up to his chest. “A villain by the name of Bloodwork has taken over the STAR Labs building. We aren’t sure what he’s here for. Who are you, by the way?” After giving his detailed report he then gave Bart a questioning look, as Impulse was still not known to a lot of people.

“The name’s Impulse,” Bart beamed as he announced himself. “Another speedster who’s taken residence in Central City and I’m here to help!”

“Well unless you can get into the building,” the officer explained, “you can’t really help right now.”

“This will be crash!” Bart yelled. “Watch this!” Bart took off toward STAR Labs at superspeed and phased through the windows. He realized that the red stuff he was running through was liquid, it was warm, and it was sticky. When he stopped running on the other side of the window, he looked down at himself. “Yuck!” He yelled as he vibrated himself at superspeed, throwing the red liquid from himself and into the room. “I guess the name ‘Bloodwork’ was more accurate than I thought.” Bart unfortunately had too much experience with the stuff, most of it recently. He looked around the room he was in and found himself in the lobby. Everything looked normal, except for the coating of blood on everything. “Guess I should check the place out.” Bart took off at superspeed and ran through the building, room by room. He didn’t find anyone on the ground floor and up, it was when he checked the basement that he found the intruder.

A massive being, very similar to Clayface, except red in color was tearing open crates near the zeta tubes.

“It has to be here!” Bloodwork shouted as he threw down a red jar that rolled across the floor.

“Whatcha looking for BW?” Bart asked, causing the villain to turn around.

Bloodwork growled and stretched out his hand and the blood on the floor next to Bart rose like a tentacle. The tentacle attempted to grab Bart, but with his superspeed, he easily moved a few feet to his left and dodged the attack.

“Another speedster!” Bloodwork shouted. “There seems to be a large supply of you guys anymore!”

“There’s always room for another speedster,” Bart said and rushed toward Bloodwork in a blur. He stopped right in front of Bloodwork and let loose with a barrage of lightning fast punches into Bloodwork’s torso. It felt like punching Jell-O, each hit simply sending shockwaves through the villain without doing any real damage.

Bloodwork raised his right arm and backhanded Bart, sending him flying back and into the wall. Bloodwork raised his left hand and the blood coating the walls wrapped around Bart like a cocoon, only leaving his head exposed.

“Maybe you should have talked to the Flash,” Bloodwork mocked. “I’m completely invulnerable to damage.” Bloodwork turned his back to Bart and began tearing through the crates sitting next to the zeta tube.

“Ow,” Bart sighed as he looked around. The crates all had large Justice League marks on them, so they must have come from the Hall of Justice after it was destroyed by Despero. The largest crate was marked “Star Diamond” and was about the size of a minivan. He vibrated himself and phased through the wall behind himself, coming to stand in a lab. He saw a large bronze key sitting on a table, and after another glance, he saw that this room had no blood in it. He walked over and looked at the key, it was actually a gun of some sort. _Crash!_ He thought to himself. _I bet this will have blood bags feeling the mode_. Bart picked up the blaster and phased through the wall again, making sure to move a few feet to the right to avoid the crimson cocoon.

Bloodwork was at another crate now, what looked like a human head laid on the floor, its bright orange hair, red eyes, and pointed ears gave it away as an android.

“I thought they would have sent it here!” Bloodwork cried as he brought both fists down on the crate, splintering it.

Bart aimed the blaster at Bloodwork and fired, but he wasn’t use to firing a gun and the yellow ray missed its target and hit the diamond’s crate. Instead of blasting the crate to bits, it enveloped the crate in a yellow glow and disassembled the crate. Nails pried themselves free of the wood planks and the crate fell apart like dominos, revealing a large multifaceted diamond within.

“That’s it!” Bloodwork yelled and turned to Bart. “The Key’s Key Gun!”

“That’s really its name?” Bart asked sarcastically. “Kind of on point but not crash at all. Where’s the explosions?”

“You fool!” Bloodwork shouted and three tendrils of blood shot from his torso toward Bart. Bart easily dodged each attack, never standing in the same spot twice. “The gun opens anything it hits, even unraveling its target if the proper settings are put in.”

“Why a gun for that?” Bart asked and dodged another flurry of tendrils. “Seems kind of pointless hair-man-oh.”

Bloodwork shrieked and charged toward Bart, calling more blood from the room to himself. He grew in size, until he was roughly twice the size of Bart.

“Why this gun thing?” Bart asked and ducked under Bloodwork’s arm as he swung at his head. “Can’t you just ooze into places as needed?” Bart sidestepped a downward swing from his opponent.

“You talk nearly as much as the Flash,” Bloodwork growled as his hits kept missing their mark.

“Still doesn’t answer my question,” Bart sassed as he masterfully dodged the attacks. He felt a sudden pain in his chest, causing him to drop the Key Gun and double over in agony. He clutched his chest and gasped for breath, but the pain wouldn’t subside.

“Normally that ability would stop the blood in a person,” Bloodwork said in a calmer tone. Bart looked up at him and saw the hulking monster was gone, instead a person stood before him, still made of blood, but normal sized. His hands, forearms, feet, and shins were blue, like veins, with blood tendrils coming out of his back. “I guess being a speedster means your blood runs faster than a normal person’s, so the power only slows you down to normal human speed.” A tendril unnervingly moved and picked up the gun, passing it off to Bloodwork’s hands. “As far as the gun is concerned, The Key was a master chemist and this weapon can effect objects and people at the atomic level. I’ve got a score to settle with a rival of mine and I can’t quite kill him without this gun.”

In a flash of red movement, the Key Gun was removed from Bloodwork’s hands.

“Guess that grudge match will have to wait,” Barry said as he stood behind Bloodwork. He looked down quickly at the gun and changed its settings at superspeed. He then aimed and fired it at Bart.

Bart felt the pain in his body leave him and he could breathe normally again.

“Thanks, gra…Flash!” Bart corrected himself as he stood up. “Now let’s take this blood bag down!”

“I’m impervious to anything you can throw at me!” Bloodwork shouted and sent his tendrils after the two speedsters. The tendrils couldn’t find their marks and smashed into the floor, the walls, or crates as the two speedsters came together.

“How did you beat this guy before?” Bart asked as he dodged a tendril.

“Lots of water,” Barry answered and ducked from a swipe at his head.

“What about a vortex?” Bart asked and sidestepped.

“We’re indoors,” Barry answered and looked around. “Maybe we can trap him though.” Barry’s eyes saw the Star Diamond. “Let’s do your vortex plan and aim him at that diamond.”

Both Barry and Bart took off and ran at superspeed clockwise around Bloodwork. They gained speed quickly and soon Bloodwork was lifted off the ground, shouting in frustration the whole time. Barry and Bart changed their course and aimed their foe at the Star Diamond, sending him careening at the large gem. Bloodwork splattered across the surface of the diamond and reformed to stand next to it, keeping a hand on it to steady himself.

“Fools!” Bloodwork shouted at them. “There’s nothing you can do that can hurt me!” Bloodwork went to remove his hand from the diamond to move towards the speedsters but found he couldn’t. “What?!”

The blood on the walls, floor, and ceiling began to pool together and form tendrils. They weren’t moving my Bloodwork’s power, as he even looked surprised at their actions. The tendrils all arced toward the diamond, touching its surface and being absorbed into the gem. Bart could see that more blood was moving in from the rest of the building, seeping through the air ducts and under the doors, all moving towards the diamond.

“NO!” Bloodwork shouted as he was also being sucked into the diamond. He resisted with everything he could muster, but the power of the diamond was too much for him, and he soon was encased in the gem. The gem took on a blood red hue.

“Great job kid!” Barry complimented Bart and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Totally crash!” Bart shouted. “How did you know the diamond would do that?”

“A while ago,” Barry explained, “a villain used the diamond to trap nearly the entire Justice League, thankfully Green Arrow got us out with a diamond tipped arrow.”

“How did the gun stop me from feeling the mode though?” Bart turned to Barry and asked.

“The Key Gun does work on the atomic level, like Bloodwork said,” Barry explained and sat the gun down on a desk. “Bloodwork was, essentially, locking your blood in place, so I changed its settings and unlocked it.”

Bart yawned.

“You alright?” Barry asked, concern creeping into his voice.

“Just a little tired is all,” Bart shrugged off the concern. “Pulled an all-nighter with Tim, Gavin, and Bria.” Bart yawned again, not realizing how tired he was until now, his adrenaline leaving his body.

“Go get some sleep,” Barry said and put his hand back on Bart’s shoulder.

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Bart exclaimed and hugged Barry tightly, catching the older speedster off guard, but Barry quickly returned the hug. “See you later gramps!” Bart took off at superspeed and ran back towards the Garrick’s house.


	20. 11 Against 1

**Central City**

**May 15, 12:20 CDT**

Bart opened the front door of the Garrick’s house and walked in.

“I’m home!” He shouted into the house. He kicked his shoes off at the front door and started to walk back to his room.

“Just in time for lunch,” Jay said from his recliner in the living room.

“My goodness!” Joan exclaimed and ran to Bart when she saw him. “Are you hurt?” She gave him a once over, seeing blood on his uniform.

“What?” Bart answered absentmindedly. He looked down at himself and didn’t realize that he had a decent amount of blood on his uniform from battling Bloodwork. “I guess the diamond didn’t remove every drop of blood. I’m totally crash Mrs. Garrick, this is a villain’s blood, but he’s feeling the mode now.” He looked up and saw the look of horror on her face. “I mean…he’s not dead…he was just made of blood…he’s trapped in a big diamond now…Grandpa was there to,” Bart stuttered out, trying to not freak Joan out. Bart yawned again.

“Ok dear,” Joan said and gave him another once over, just to make sure he wasn’t hurt. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up. I think I still have some of that heavy-duty cleaner from when Barry would show up with blood stains.” Joan wandered off toward her hallway closet and began her search.

Bart worked his way to his room, closed the door behind him, and managed to strip his uniform off, which was made difficult from the dried blood. He threw the uniform in his laundry basket, which was thankfully empty because Joan liked to do small loads of laundry frequently, so sometimes their clothing got mixed up a little. He hopped in his shower and washed off the filth and grime of the previous day. Once he finished up, he put on some clean clothing, boxer briefs, jeans, socks, and a yellow t-shirt and went out to join Jay and Joan.

“I take it you were at that incident at STAR Labs?” Jay said while standing up to move to the dining room table.

“You betcha!” Bart yawned and followed him to the table.

“Long night?” Jay asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.

“Yeah,” Bart sighed and sat down to his left. Even with all the pep talks from all his friends, Bart still felt helpless when it came to his mission. With the Garricks, he let his walls down a little more than usual, putting his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands.

“Here we are,” Joan walked into the dining room with a plate for each of them, carefully balancing the third one on her forearm.

“Honey,” Jay playfully chastised. “If you needed help, you could have asked either of us.” He grabbed the carefully balanced plate so she wouldn’t have to worry about it.

“Thanks, dear,” Joan said and placed a plate in front of Bart before taking her own seat to Jay’s right. The homemade cheeseburgers, freshly baked rolls, and hand cut fries smelled and looked incredibly appetizing, and as usual, Jay and Bart had twice as much food on their plates as Joan did. “Everything’s loaded up just the way you both like it.”

Jay said a quick blessing over the meal and the group of them began to eat. Jay learned to slow his eating down to nearly human levels. As they got older, they enjoyed spending every minute together, even mundane ones like mealtime. They noticed that Bart wasn’t really eating and just sort of staring into the distance.

“Everything alright?” Joan asked and sat her food down.

“Huh?” Bart yawned. He then noticed that both of the Garricks were giving him concerned looks. “Sorry, it was a long night.”

“No need to be sorry,” Joan said with a warm smile. “We just want to make sure that you’re alright. You want to talk about anything?”

“I don’t know,” Bart said after some thought. “Did Wally tell you guys about the mission last night?”

“Not much,” Jay admitted. “Just that Nightwing had authorized it.”

Bart drew in a deep breath and then began to explain the mission. “Nightwing was following my mission from the future. Something bad happens to someone from the past and I came back to stop it.”

“You mean with Barry?” Jay asked and interrupted Bart.

“Jay,” Joan said evenly yet sternly, giving him a sideways glance. “Let him finish.”

“She never lets me get away with anything,” Jay chuckled. “Sorry Bart, continue.”

“I can’t get super detailed right now,” Bart explained. “Wally says that if I do, I risk crashing the time stream. But I promise to tell you guys everything once my mission is a success.” He promised with absolute sincerity and both Jay and Joan nodded their heads in agreement to the terms. “Well Gavin, the mage who healed me after my fight in Taos, was able to take a small team of us into the mind of the person I came back to save. We found out that I failed to keep them safe, but now a group of people are working to fix my mistake.” Bart looked down at his plate and didn’t make eye contact with the Garricks while he explained. He still felt like he failed, even though he got a bunch of encouraging words.

“Oh hun,” Joan said and placed her hand on top of Bart’s. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

“But I failed and now Ja…the person I came to save is moded,” Bart quickly corrected himself as to not reveal too much information. Joan smirked at the change, but Jay seemed oblivious.

“Was it something you did that failed this person?” Jay asked calmly.

“What do you mean?” Bart asked.

“I mean was it on a mission?” Jay clarified. “Did you hit them instead of an enemy? Did you talk them into doing something?”

“No,” Bart answered after some thought.

“Then it sounds like you didn’t fail,” Joan chimed in. “If you weren’t directly involved in whatever got them, then you couldn’t have stopped it. It also sounds like there are people helping you save this person.”

“Why does everyone keep doing that?” Bart snapped and pulled his hands free of Joan’s. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Why is everything a group effort?”

“Because it keeps more people safe more often,” Jay answered sincerely. “When you have allies to watch your back on the field, you can do more, and when you have loved ones to come home to,” he took Joan’s hand in his, “you have something worth fighting for and a way to free yourself from stress.”

“I assume the future is less team oriented?” Joan asked carefully.

“Yeah,” Bart relented. “If too many of us grouped together, we would be found. Team missions were few and far between, it was mostly a ‘do it yourself’ atmosphere.”

“Well,” Joan said and chose her words carefully before continuing, “we won’t pry anymore. Feel free to eat as much or as little as you want for lunch. You can lay down for a nap and I can wake you up for supper.”

“What about school?” Bart asked and looked back at Joan.

“It’s Saturday Bart,” Joan chuckled. “Besides, the advantage of homeschooling means we can set the pace as long as it all gets done when it needs to.”

Bart stood up from the table and walked over to Joan and Jay, he put an arm around each of their shoulders as they sat there and hugged both of them.

“Thanks,” Bart whispered into their ears.

“Anytime,” Joan whispered back as she hugged him.

Bart broke off the hug and walked back to his room and crashed on his bed, sleep taking him quickly.

****

**The Warworld**

**May 26, 11:50 UTC**

The Warworld was massive. Bart knew it was big just by looking up at the sky from the ground, but now that they were in orbit, it was by far the largest thing he’s ever seen.

“Ok Team,” Batgirl (Barbara) said from the helm of the Bioship. Everyone turned their chairs around to look at her, Blue Beetle (Jaime), Beast Boy (Gar), Impulse (Bart), Wonder Girl (Cassie), Arsenal (Roy), Superboy (Conner), Bumblebee (Karen), Guardian (Mal), and Robin (Tim). Wolf and Sphere sat off to the side, but if they were paying attention to Batgirl, no one could tell. “Remember your assignments, Alpha Squad takes out Mongul, Beta Squad takes out the crystal key, Gamma Squad takes out the power core, and Delta Squad lays down cover fire on the Warworld’s surface.”

_The champions of Earth at least have a sound strategy,_ the Ambassador mused.

_I estimate a 70% chance of success,_ the Scarab calculated. _Too many unknown quantities with the Warworld._

“We already went over this,” Roy complained. “How often do you guys go over mission details?”

“As much as it takes,” Conner replied with some frustration.

“Was this part of your future?” Gar leaned in to whisper to Bart.

“Nope,” Bart replied. “Never heard of this ‘Warworld’ before.” Bart glanced over at Jaime, who was staring at the Warworld with a cold determination.

“If only your future could be a little more specific at times,” Cassie sassed.

“I’m willing to bet,” Tim started, “that since his arrival to the past, everything is happening differently that it did in his timeline.”

“I kind of assumed that Boy Wonder,” Cassie teased Tim, causing both of them to blush slightly. “Just some harmless teasing.”

Karen had her wrist hologram up and was studying the Warworld’s power core while Mal looked at her and made a face, furrowing his brow together, huffing and looked back to Batgirl.

“Anyway,” Batgirl refocused the group. “Be ready to deploy soon, we’ll so be arriving.” She pulled the Bioship up to the docking hangar and backed up to it. The Bioship integrated with the Warworld’s door. Blue walked up to the door and the Bioship opened a section of its hull to allow Blue to connect with the Warworld. “Everything good Blue?” Batgirl asked after a few moments of Blue concentrating on the door.

“It’s a complicated machine,” Blue explained. “But it’s no match for this suit…there.” Blue removed his hand and the hangar door opened. “No problem at all.”

Bart and Tim gave each other a look of concern before Batgirl dismissed the teams into the Warworld.

***

Bart, Blue, and Gar ran down the hallways and corridors that their maps pointed them down. They were charged with getting the crystal key and ending the threat of the Warworld, at least one of three potential ways to end the threat. Bart would also call the “running” they were doing a generous phrase. They were moving at about 60 miles per hour, Gar flew as a peregrine falcon, Blue had his wings extended and flew, and Bart was moving way too slow for his liking but staying as a group was necessary for safety.

“So,” Gar started, he normally couldn’t speak while in animal form, but thanks to Megan, his biosuit could translate his animal noises into words, even if it made him sound a little robotic. “Did you guys do anything fun recently?”

“Not really BB,” Bart responded. “Wrapping up the schoolyear is totally not crash.”

“Yes,” Blue responded. “Schoolwork has been monumental as of late.”

_Yeah,_ Jaime sassed the Scarab. _Schoolwork’s never been easier since you took control._

_See,_ the Ambassador chimed in. _You are finally seeing the benefits of our partnership._

_It’s called sarcasm extraterrestre,_ Jaime said and if he could roll his eyes he would. _If you’re going to talk to people, you should try and learn some._

“That’s weird,” Gar replied. “My schoolwork got a lot lighter at the end, but maybe that’s the difference with homeschooling. You guys usually have goofy stories about blowing up boulders or taking on bad guys.”

“I’d like to have a goofy story to tell ya,” Bart admitted. “Once summer hits, I’ll be sure to get some for you.” Bart made sure to put on a big smile for Gar.

_I’d like some too,_ Jaime admitted.

As the three of them ran down the corridor, a monorail came speeding by overhead. A screeching sound emitted from the train, as the monorail engaged its breaks, coming to a stop about 20 feet behind and above the trio.

“Nowhere to hide,” Blue said as the three of them stopped moving forward, Gar perching on Bart’s extended left arm.

The monorail’s three cars opened their doors and dozens of red octahedron shaped robots came hovering out. As soon as they cleared the monorail, they began firing yellow laser beams at the group.

“Beetle to Watchtower,” Blue said as his right arm formed his sonic cannon. “We’ve been spotted! The Warworld knows we’re here.” Blue fired his sonic cannon, its high-pitched whirring sound was accompanied by the light blue energy rings, which easily destroyed any Warworld robot they collided with.

Gar flew off Bart’s arm and grabbed a robot in his talons, pulling it along as it fired its laser, making sure to aim its attacks at its fellow robots, destroying them.

Bart ran at superspeed and jumped onto a robot. He punched his way through their metal bodies, with his enhanced speed applied to his punches, the robots were still solid, but they broke apart like glass. He jumped from robot to robot and even ran up walls in order to battle them.

Within moments, all the Warworld’s security drones were destroyed, laying on the floor in broken heaps of fragmented metal. The three of them heard sounds of battle over their communication devices, as the other teams did battle with the Warworld’s security drones.

“Think anyone else needs our help?” Gar asked with a bit of worry lacing his voice.

“Our mission is to get the crystal key,” Blue answered with determination. “Once we power down the Warworld, all of the other team’s missions will be made easier.”

_You could have at least pretended to show concern for the others,_ Jaime sassed the Ambassador.

_What?!_ The Ambassador asked defiantly. _Retrieving the crystal key will help the other teams. My assessment is accurate._

Bart gave Blue a glance, knowing that Jaime wasn’t truly in control anymore, but there was nothing he could do. He knew that better minds were working hard to make the Scarab feel the mode, he just had to make sure that Blue wouldn’t do anything that Jaime would regret.

“Ok,” Gar relented and flew toward the key chamber. “Last one there is a rotten egg!”

“Don’t challenge an Allen to a race!” Bart called and easily caught up to Gar with his superspeed. “We’ll have you feeling the mode in no time!”

The three of them moved down the corridors in relative silence, taking out patrols of security drones whenever they appeared. They eventually came to the key chamber, Bart dispatching the last security drone before extending his arm for Gar to perch on it.

“Beta to Watchtower,” Blue relayed through his communication device. “We’re in.” As the three of them saw the crystal key floating in its pedestal, dozens of doors opened along the room’s walls. Hundreds of security drones hovered into the room, moving towards the intruders. Blue reformed his sonic cannon. “Uh, this could take a while.” He fired his cannon at the incoming drones while Bart took off at superspeed to battle them, Gar jumped off Bart’s arm and turned into a large green gorilla, letting out a roar before advancing towards the drones.

In a matter of moments, the drones were destroyed.

“I guess this giant hunk of junk can’t challenge us!” Gar said triumphantly as they approached the key, turning back into his human/monkey hybrid.

“We’re just too crash!” Bart exclaimed as he flexed his bicep, causing both of them to laugh.

“I’ll just take this for safekeeping,” Blue said as he reached into the energy field surrounding the key and pulled it from its pedestal. The Warworld began to power down, letting out a low whirring noise as the orange lights surrounding the key turned off in sequence.

_Now to deal with the champions of Earth problem,_ the Ambassador mused.

_¿De qué estás hablando?_ Jaime asked, not truly wanting to know what he meant.

_I mean,_ the Ambassador explained with sadistic intent. _All these young “heroes” will be meeting in one place, away from the public eye. It seems like the perfect opportunity to remove them from play._

_You can’t do that!_ Jaime shouted back.

_And why not?_ The Ambassador asked in frustration.

_The Watchtower knows they’re here,_ Jaime said while searching for the right words to say. _If you kill them and I am the only one left, they’ll know it was our fault._

The Ambassador was quiet for a few moments. Jaime thought he hopefully saved his friends and teammates.

_Then we won’t kill them,_ the Ambassador relented.

_Gracias Ambassador,_ Jaime sighed in relief.

_But they’ll still be removed from play,_ the Ambassador said smugly. Jaime could imagine the smirk on his face when he said it. _I will take care of explaining everything when needed. Scarab, wait until all the champions have met up, then take them prisoner._

Jaime was getting use to the strange sensations that registered in his mind, so he knew the Ambassador signed off his computer, probably going to work on some publicity stunt.

_Scarab please!_ Jaime pleaded as he saw his body move with Bart and Gar back towards the hangar. _We don’t have to listen to him! We can make our own choices._

_I must do as design parameters dictate,_ the Scarab responded. _This course of action best furthers the goals of the Reach._

Jaime could only watch as all of the Team gathered up in the hangar.

“Well,” Blue said walking up behind Bart with the crystal key in hand. “The gang’s all here.”

_Bart, duck!_ Jaime shouted, forgetting that no one could hear him.

He raised the key and swung it with all his might at the base of Bart’s skull. It connected with a solid blow, causing Bart to drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes, knocked unconscious in a single hit. Blue swiftly morphed his right hand into his sonic cannon and fired at the group, catching Gar, Barbara, Mal, and Karen in its energy rings, knocking them unconscious. Tim jumped back and out of the way of the attack, suspecting something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. Roy dove and rolled behind Sphere, who was not only unaffected by the attack, but could shield anyone who stood behind them.

“Blue,” Conner called out, while still holding Mongul with Cassie. “What are you doing?!”

_Please let at least one of them escape,_ Jaime begged. _Or even defeat you._

_I calculate their chance of victory at 4%,_ the Scarab replied in its cold indifference. _Their chance of escape is at 17%._

Blue focused on Conner, activating his jetpack and rocketing towards him. He raised his arm, which morphed from the sonic cannon back to his hand, and shoulder checked Conner, sending him flying back to hit the wall of the hangar. Blue effortlessly caught Mongul with his right hand and casually flipped him onto Cassie. He changed his right hand into his staple gun and pinned Cassie’s wrists to the floor. He reached his left arm back towards the Scarab, placing the crystal key against it. The nanites of the Scarab encased the key, protecting it from harm and freeing up his left hand.

Karen crawled out from under Mal, who took the brunt of Blue’s sonic attack, saving her from falling unconscious. She ran behind Tim, hoping he had a plan to defeat Blue.

_Scarab please!_ Jaime begged. _We’ve proven we can beat them, lets just take the key and leave._

_The Reach requires their capture,_ the Scarab explained. _Their knowledge of our allegiance to the Reach is a risk to the Reach’s invasion of Earth._

Blue felt something collide with his Scarab, as a birdarang bounced off his armor and ricocheted into the lower wall of the hangar. He turned around while still hovering in the air with his jetpack to see Tim and Karen take a step back in fear. Blue moved slowly toward them.

“No,” Roy seethed to himself, looking for any possible means of either escape or victory. “Not again.” His eyes found the airlock controls for the hangar doors.

“Arsenal, no!” Karen shouted as she could see the gears turning in Roy’s head.

“I will not be taken again!” Roy shouted at Blue as he made a fist and hit the airlock release button.

The hangar doors sprung open, creating a sucking vacuum as all the air in the room was quickly escaping into space. A harsh alarm sounded through the hangar. Sphere, being in her rolled-up mode, had nothing to hold her down, she was lifted off the ground in the air current and jettisoned into space. Blue was hovering with his jetpack, so he was the next to feel the suctions power. He was pulled toward the airlock, the Scarab making quick changes to his jetpack’s power to not be pulled completely into space. Tim held onto Karen’s hands as they both were pulled toward the airlock. He quickly pulled out a batarang with his free hand and dug it into the floor, hoping to gain more resistance against the pull of the wind. Wolf hunkered down and dug his claws into the floor. Blue’s Scarab made the proper adjustments at the last second, keeping him in the airlock and level with the controls. Tim’s batarang and Wolf’s claws lost their grip at the same time, causing Tim, Karen, and Wolf to go hurtling through the air toward Blue and the airlock.

_At least save them!_ Jaime screamed as his friends and teammates were mere feet from death in the vacuum of space.

Blue quickly turned his left hand into his pincer sword and hit the controls with it, causing the airlock to close. In a swift motion, Blue leveled out, his jetpack recalibrated to the still air, and he changed his sword into his sonic cannon. He fired it at Tim, Karen, and Wolf, who were coming toward him, enveloping them in the blue energy rings. They fell to the ground in a heap, now unconscious from the attack.

“Why?” Conner asked breathlessly as he struggled to stand.

“Don’t waste the oxygen, hermano,” Blue answered him. Jaime knew the way Scarab mimicked his Spanish that there was no sincerity in his words, just empty repeating of what Jaime always said. “There’s very little left in here.”

Roy quickly grabbed his rebreather, usually kept for underwater missions, but it proved useful now. His rapid breathing slowed to his usual rate and he stood up and fired his grappling line from his cybernetic arm. He propelled himself up and away from Blue, but not before drawing his attention.

Blue turned to face the fleeing Roy and raised his right hand, turning it into his staple gun. As he aimed and fired, Conner jumped in the way, taking the staple at point blank range.

Conner groaned and fell back as the staple, which would have pierced a normal person, bounced off his chest with enough force to knock him to the ground. Conner pushed off the ground to see Blue land and walk toward him calmly.

Blue raised the staple gun like a fist and hit Conner over the head with all his force, knocking the half-kryptonian out. Blue looked around for Roy, but he managed to escape with Conner’s distraction. The Team laid on the ground, firmly defeated by a single Reach Scarab.

_At least Roy escaped,_ Jaime said. _I guess 17% is more than you thought._

_The Arsenal’s escape means nothing,_ the Scarab corrected. _He has only one weapon which can damage Reach Scarabs and I calculate that he would run out of power before he could bring us down. He has no allies on the Warworld and no way of escaping it. It will only be a matter of time before he too is captured._

_Warrior,_ the Ambassador said. _Take these young champions to the Warworld’s containment pods. I will come up with a story to tell Nightwing._

_Of course, Ambassador,_ the Scarab replied.

Blue set about grabbing the Team one at a time and taking them to their new home aboard the Warworld.

****

**El Paso**

**May 29, 07:00 MDT**

“¿Que estabas pensando?” Bianca questioned Jaime as the family sat down for breakfast. “Unmasking yourself in public, let alone at a press conference!”

“It was time,” Blue responded with indifference. “I did just save the planet and all, it’s nice to get a little recognition for it.”

“Most heroes don’t unmask themselves!” Bianca said with frustration. “Do you realize that you put all of us in danger, same with your friends from school? Now any villain who wants to hurt you knows who to go after!”

_This is why we have secret identities,_ Jaime sighed as he knew this argument all too well. _Now we have to work extra hard to protect those around us and fight mi madre._

“No villain will come after me!” Blue sassed back. “I just defeated something that could have destroyed the planet. Only someone insane would attack us.”

“Like the Joker?” Milagro asked innocently as she ate her bowl of cereal.

“Exactamente Milagro,” Bianca calmed down slightly to talk to the youngster. “I don’t even want to head to mass this morning. We’ll probably get bombarded with questions.”

“Then I’m good to go patrolling?” Blue asked as he finished his breakfast.

“Good?” Bianca asked incredulously. “We are so far from good right now!”

“Cariña,” Alberto said soothingly to Bianca. “A good portion of his team just went missing.”

_Abducted more like it,_ Jaime corrected.

“Maybe him unmasking himself was a spur of the moment thing,” Alberto explained. “Let him fly around and get some air. He’ll work out whatever he needs to work out.”

Bianca looked at her husband in disbelief.

“Thanks dad,” Blue said and put his dishes in the sink. “I promise to be back by curfew.” He made his way out the front door, suited up, and took off into the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations
> 
> ¿De qué estás hablando?- What are you talking about?  
> ¿Que estabas pensando?- What were you thinking?  
> Exactamente- Exactly


	21. From the Shadows

**New York City**

**May 30, 01:37 EDT**

“The Ambassador has tasked you with eliminating both threats with extreme prejudice,” the Reach Scientist spoke to Black Beetle. “Take out the meat called Arsenal and our four former test subjects.”

“Gladly,” Black Beetle replied and turned to walk away from the hologram projector.

“And Warrior,” the Scientist called, causing Black Beetle to stop in his tracks. “Capture is not required. The Arsenal does not possess the metagene and our former test subjects have given us all we need to know in order to activate more metahumans.”

Black Beetle then continued walking away from the hologram as it powered down, content with finally getting a kill order.

****

**The Warworld**

**May 30, 08:23 UTC**

Bart groaned as he felt his knees collide with something hard and cold, clanging off metal. He opened his eyes, which felt unnaturally heavy. He was still in the Warworld and with a quick glance to his left, he saw Karen and Cassie in the same pod as him. His head spun as he tried to remember what happened. He suddenly heard a loud crash, as Black Beetle flew by in front of him and hit the wall, sent back by the force of some blow. He then saw Mongul leap forward at Black Beetle, with the intent to bring both fists down on the Reach Warrior and crush him. Black Beetle quickly recovered and formed a plasma cannon on his chest, firing it at and hitting Mongul and pushing him back.

Bart managed to make his way to the floor, although each movement of his muscles felt like he was walking across burning coals.

“Let’s go!” Arsenal called out to the Team and four new teens. “Move!” He motioned for everyone to follow him to a door with a control panel next to it. “Ok, get ready. There’s a squad of Reach soldiers waiting for us.” He then pressed the controls and the door opened.

Just beyond the door, a squad of Reach soldiers were laying on the ground, knocked unconscious. Just beyond them, Nightwing, Miss Martian, and Sphere, now in cycle form, stood at the ready, looking like they just finished a battle. Arsenal moved forward to talk with Nightwing, but Bart’s head was pounding, so he didn’t bother listening in. Asami moved over to help Bart walk, allowing him to put an arm around her shoulders.

By the time that the Team made it back to the Bioship, Bart was feeling much better and able to walk by himself. He sat down on one of the chairs that the Bioship generated for him. After a few minutes, Nightwing walked on board.

“Ok Miss M,” he said as he took a seat near the control seat. “Take us home.”

Miss Martian placed her hands on the control spheres of the Bioship and flew back toward Earth.

“What happened exactly?” Nightwing asked once they came back into Earth’s atmosphere.

“Jaime just lost it!” Cassie vented. “He just went nuts and attacked all of us.”

“That wasn’t Jaime!” Bart shouted back at Cassie.

“Looked and sounded like Jaime to me,” Mal groaned as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“He’s being controlled!” Bart continued to shout.

“By the Scarab?” Karen asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Yes…No…it’s complicated!” Bart said in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on.

“Jaime isn’t at fault here,” Miss Martian interjected, causing everyone to look at her. “I refused to dig deep into Green Beetle’s mind after I attacked Kaldur on the Reach ship. Green tricked Jaime into putting the Scarab back into the Reach’s control. I don’t know how everything works there, but Jaime hasn’t been in control of his actions for a long time.”

“I assume the Reach saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike,” Nightwing added. “You were all out of the public eye and there was no backup.”

“The Scarab has been transmitting a signal to the Reach ship in New York City,” Tim said and brought up his holographic display from his wrist. The image showed the Reach ship and Blue Beetle, with a blue dotted line connecting the two. “I assume the Scientist has either set up a complex artificial intelligence to control Jaime or someone on the ship is in active control of him. Still doesn’t help that he hits like a truck when he needs to.”

“So, Jaime’s not a traitor?” Cassie asked and furrowed her brow.

“Technically speaking he is,” Tim added.

“Hey! He’s being controlled!” Bart yelled at Tim.

“I’m just saying he is technically a traitor because he attacked his allies to aid the enemy,” Tim retorted. “He didn’t have a choice, but he still attacked us.”

“That’s enough!” Nightwing interjected before Bart could go back at Tim. “We can discuss this more when we’ve all had a chance to get some rest.”

The rest of the flight back to Blüdhaven was silent, but the tension was thick amongst all the members of the Team.

****

**Blüdhaven**

**May 30, 06:30 EDT**

Bart sat at the edge of the cot provided for him after being saved from the Warworld. He looked down at his phone and hoped he would get an answer soon from Gavin.

“Sorry about what I said back there,” Tim sighed and sat on the cot next to Bart’s cot. “I let my emotions get the best of me and I know Jaime isn’t a traitor.”

“It’s crash,” Bart sighed and looked over at Tim. “I just hate feeling so moded.”

“Could just be the temporal stasis we were in,” Tim teased and wore a small smirk on his face.

“Haha,” Bart laughed dryly.

“Anyway,” Tim said, standing up and stretching. “I guess we should all get some rest, either here or at our respective homes. I just wanted to make sure we were good.”

Bart felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at who was messaging him. He had 14 messages, all of them from Jay and Joan.

“We’re crash. I guess I should head back to the Garrick’s place,” Bart said with a small smile. “I guess my phone just caught up to me, going into space must have moded it.” Bart opened the text messages and saw the progression of wandering when he was getting home to the frantic asking if he was alright. “If I don’t head out soon, I think the Jay may come running over here himself soon.”

“Alright,” Tim said and started toward the exit. “Get some rest Bart.” With that, Tim walked out of the Team’s new hideout and toward Wayne Manor to his bed.

Bart brought up his phone and opened his messages to the Garricks. Bart typed and sent his message.

Bart: I’m on my way now. See you in a few.

Bart then took off at superspeed and phased through the door to the Team’s hideout. He took off at full speed, enjoying the cool wind hitting his face, the changing colors of the sunrise, and the bustle of people and animals as they were waking up. His muscles felt tight from the days spent in suspended animation and he needed this run to stretch them out. In a matter of minutes, he was outside the Garrick’s home.

****

**Central City**

**May 30, 05:40 CDT**

Bart forgot about the time difference. He tried to open the front door, only to find it locked.

“This is so not crash!” Bart exclaimed. He also forgot where Joan kept the spare key outside. He decided to phase through the door and creep his way back to his room. He stripped off his uniform and hopped in the shower, switching to boxer briefs, black gym shorts, and a red t-shirt when he was done. He looked down at his phone when he was done and saw that it was only 5:50. He didn’t remember when the Garrick’s woke up, so he decided to lay down for a few minutes.

The “few minutes” was a lie.

***Bart was sitting at a picnic table in Central City park. Jay and Barry stood by the grill, cooking hamburgers and hot dogs. Joan and Iris sat at the other end of the picnic table, chatting away. Wally and Artemis sat on a picnic blanket and cuddled into each other. The sun was shining, birds were singing, everything was perfect.

Suddenly the whole park became dark, like a large storm cloud moved in front of the sun. Bart looked up and saw the Warworld taking aim at the Earth with its Grand Laser Emitter. Fear spread across everyone’s faces. As the weapon began to glow yellow, he felt Joan grab his shoulder and shake him into action.

“Bart!” Joan shouted as she shook him. “Bart you have to wake up!”***

Bart jolted awake to find both Jay and Joan in his room. Jay stood next to his bed and Joan sat on the edge of the bed, her hand on Bart’s shoulder from shaking him awake.

“We were so worried!” Joan sighed and wrapped Bart up in a tight hug. “It had been days and Nightwing wasn’t giving us any details. Then we came in here after we saw your text and it looked like you were having a nightmare.”

“Give him some space to breathe dear,” Jay said and put a hand on Joan’s shoulder.

Joan pulled out of her hug and both of the Garricks gave Bart worried looks.

“Just got moded for a little is all,” Bart said with a smirk. “Got captured by the enemy and some other teammates came by and saved us. It’s no big deal. What time is it?”

“A little after 7,” Jay answered. He looked calmer now that Bart was home and in one piece.

“Was that what your nightmare was about?” Joan asked softly.

“Yeah,” Bart sighed. “But I’m crash now! I’m awake and ready for the day.”

Bart’s phone buzzed and he picked it up. There was a text from Gavin.

Gavin: We are at the finish line for the purification ritual. Feel free to come up to the Watchtower and we can work out the details with you.

Bart couldn’t contain the joy he was feeling, and he wore a smile from ear to ear.

“Good news I take it?” Jay chuckled.

“Totally crash news!” Bart exclaimed. “I got to go to the Watchtower!” He started to stand up off the bed, but he felt a hand grip his shoulder.

“Not until after breakfast,” Joan said firmly. “You can’t just go missing, then come home to leave again. I know how you speedsters work. Get some food in you, then you can go.” Joan stood up and went to the kitchen, leaving no time for Bart to refute her.

“She’s got a way with words,” Jay chuckled. “See you at the table.” Jay walked out to his chair and picked up his newspaper.

****

**Watchtower**

**May 30, 09:30 EDT**

“Recognized,” the female robotic voice chimed from the zeta tubes in the Watchtower. “Impulse, B 23.” In a flash of golden light, Bart stood at the zeta platforms.

“Took you long enough,” Bria said sarcastically, and she leaned against a metal pillar and gazed down at the Earth. “I thought you speedsters were supposed to be fast?” She turned her head towards him and smirked.

“Mrs. Garrick wouldn’t let me leave until I had breakfast,” Bart whined. “As must as I love all her home cooking, we are SO CLOSE to having the bug feel the mode! I’m also pretty sure if there was a straight path from Earth to the Watchtower, I could run here faster than the zeta tube travels.”

“Well, Gavin and Zatanna are down that way,” Bria waved off down a hallway. “Dr. Fate left a little bit ago, apparently he couldn’t contribute anymore, and all that magic talk gives me a headache.”

“Thanks!” Bart said and took off at superspeed down the hallway she motioned towards. He easily found Gavin and Zatanna looking over a large black leather book. “So how close are we to saving Jaime?!”

Both Gavin and Zatanna jumped at the sudden appearance and enthusiastic nature of Bart.

“I swear I need to find a spell that alerts me when a speedster is nearby,” Zatanna managed to say while catching her breath.

“Hey Bart!” Gavin said and waved as he regained his composure. “The spell is done actually…”

“CRASH!” Bart shouted and jumped up, through his arms in the air in excitement. “Let’s do this!”

“…We just need to wait for the right time,” Gavin finished as he smirked at Bart.

“What do you mean?” Bart asked, the disappointment clear in his tone.

“We need the moon to be in the correct phase,” Zatanna explained. “Once it hits the Libra phase, we’ll be good to go.”

“What’s that?” Bart asked.

“Libra is an astronomical sign,” Zatanna explained. “It has to do with balance and law, its symbol is a scale. The spell will be more potent then, since we are tipping the scale in Jaime’s favor over the Scarab.”

“When is the next Libra thing?” Bart asked, scratching his head at all the new rules that had to be followed.

“June 13th, 14th, and 15th,” Gavin added. “So, we need to keep an eye on Jaime in that time for the best opportunity to grab him and take him to the Scarab Temple in Bialya.”

“That’s so far away!” Bart groaned as he took a seat at the table they were working at. “Isn’t there a way to do it now?”

“We could certainly try now,” Zatanna said. “But I don’t think my magic would be powerful enough without the right timing.”

“It also gives me just enough time to brew a potion for Zatanna,” Gavin explained. “It will let her add the latent magic leftover at the temple to her spell. Magic leaves its mark wherever it’s used, like a shadow, so it will help amp up her power.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Bart asked, desperate for something to distract him for practically forever, at least that’s what two weeks felt like to a speedster.

“I don’t think so…” Zatanna started.

“Actually,” Gavin interjected with a smirk. “I need some water from the Nile River for the potion. Mind grabbing it for me?”

“Sure thing NM!” Bart exclaimed and took off at superspeed to the zeta tubes.

“We could have just summoned that ourselves,” Zatanna sassed.

“I know,” Gavin defended himself. “He just wanted something to do to help. Plus, he could probably get there and back before we even finished a summoning spell.”

“Is there any special container I need to put the water in?” Bart reappeared out of nowhere.

“Here,” Gavin said and picked up a glass bottle with a glass stopper.

“Be back in a flash!” Bart said before taking off at superspeed again.

“He learned that from the Flash,” Zatanna groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Recognized,” the zeta tube computer said as it scanned Bart head to toe with a golden light. “Impulse, B 23.” The golden light washed over Bart as he was transported back to Earth.

****

**Metropolis**

**June 13, 20:43 EDT**

“I don’t think the Reach even cares about bystanders,” Batgirl said as she watched Blue Beetle, through her binoculars, hand the Toyman over to the police.

“The Reach doesn’t care about anyone but themselves,” Bart seethed as he looked through his own binoculars. “We have to find the right time to get him alone!”

“Relax Bart,” Batgirl said calmly. “If we don’t get him here, he’ll have to go home eventually.”

Blue took off after his interview with Cat Grant, in the general direction of South West.

“Why doesn’t he take a zeta tube?” Bart asked as Blue flew away at high speeds.

“I assume the Reach wants people to see him,” Batgirl guessed. “The more popular he is, the better it is for them. Plus, if he stops anymore crimes on the way, it just gets better for them. Let’s get over to El Paso and wait for him.”

Bart and Batgirl made their way to the Metropolis zeta tube and made their way to El Paso.

****

**El Paso**

**June 13, 20:40 MDT**

The sun was mostly set over El Paso by now, the stars clearly visible in the sky as only tiny wisps of clouds were present here or there.

“Here he comes!” Batgirl said as she viewed the North East sky over El Paso. “Get ready for your part.” She pulled out her grappling gun and got ready to brace it with the help of the chimney in the middle of the roof they were standing on.

Bart lined himself up to be perpendicular to Batgirl, he needed as straight of a run as possible if their plan to run up the grappling line was going to work.

Just a second later, Blue flew overhead, heading towards his home. Batgirl fired her grappling gun and, thanks to all her hours of training under Batman, she hit Blue’s right leg, just above his ankle. She quickly backed up and braced herself off the chimney. The line went taught, putting a strain of Batgirl’s arms, but causing Blue to stop abruptly midair. He turned around to see what was going on.

 _Breach of defensive perimeter,_ the Scarab relayed to the Ambassador. The Scarab focused down the line and spotted Batgirl on the other end.

“Batgirl!” the Ambassador yelled through Blue. “What are you doing? You know this won’t hold us.”

“It’ll hold for a couple seconds,” Batgirl said calmly as she strained to hold Blue still.

 _Batgirl, please!_ Jaime pleaded. _They’re gonna make me hurt you._

 _The Batgirl cannot hear your true voice, Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab reminded him.

“And a couple seconds…” Batgirl started.

“Is more than I need,” Bart finished for her and he took off at superspeed up the grappling line toward Blue.

Blue turned away from the two heroes and put his jetpack to full power. Blue plasma streams erupted from the Scarab as it attempted to break the line and gain speed.

With his superspeed enhancing his vision down to the microsecond, Bart could see the pulses and waves in the plasma streams as he ran up the line. Thankfully the streams flanked the line and didn’t cross over it. The line groaned under the tension, making snapping sounds as the strands began breaking one by one. In the next moment, the line broke, but not before Bart leapt off the line and landed on Blue’s back, holding onto Blue’s shoulders to stabilize himself, as they spun through the air while the Scarab recalibrated for the additional weight and speed. Once Blue stopped spinning and leveled out, Bart raised his left and pushed it as hard as he could against the Scarab on Blue’s back. He then began vibrating his hand at superspeed, causing a ton of friction damage to the alien device, which crumbled and broke apart. Without the jetpack however, the two of them began to plummet from the sky. Bart bent his legs up and pushed off Blue, sending him hurtling towards the ground while he flipped over, and his feet found the wall of a building. Bart ran down the side of the building at superspeed and came to stop on the abandoned street below, while Blue crashed into the road and laid in a heap.

Batgirl jumped down in front of Blue. “Sweet dreams, Blue,” she said as she threw a pellet towards his head. The pellet exploded and Blue was enveloped in a smoke cloud. Batgirl stood up and readied herself, just in case the plan didn’t work.

A metallic popping sound came from the smoke and one of Blue’s stapled came flying out of the smoke and hit Batgirl, lifting her off her feet and into a tree planted into the sidewalk. The staple pinned her waist to the tree as another staple quickly fired and pinned her shoulders as well. As the smoke cleared, Blue stood at the ready, his right hand had morphed into his staple gun and it was leveled at Batgirl.

Bart took off at superspeed, coming up behind Blue and shoulder checking him in the back, causing him to topple forward several feet onto the road. Blue’s right hand morphed back from the staple gun. As Blue attempted to stand up, Bart came at him again, driving his knee into Blue’s ribs, knocking him down again.

 _Scarab,_ the Ambassador chided while Blue lay on his back. _What are you waiting for?_

 _I am establishing the Impulse’s pattern of movement,_ the Scarab answered as he enhanced his vision, making the eyes on the faceplate glow yellow. He rolled over onto his stomach and morphed his left hand into his staple gun. _Anticipating where he will be._ The Scarab quickly gathered data as Bart moved too fast for normal human eyes to perceive him, but the Scarab’s computer could. _Target acquired!_ Blue quickly sat up and aimed his staple gun in a direction where nobody was and fired. The staple flew through the air and collided with Bart as he passed by, pushing him face first into a brink wall and pinning him there. The force of the collision was enough to render Bart unconscious.

 _Okay,_ Jaime said to the Scarab and the Ambassador. _They’re down, you’ve won, let’s go._

Blue turned away from the heroes and prepared to leave.

 _I think not,_ the Ambassador chimed in, causing Blue to stop in his tracks. _As this street is currently deserted, we must seize the opportunity. Scarab, kill them both._

Blue turned around and looked at the heroes for a moment before turning both of his arms into his pincer swords. He placed the tips of the swords on the road and began walking toward Bart, the metal swords scrapping the asphalt as he walked.

 _Scarab, you don’t have to do this!_ Jaime begged as his body closed the distance between him and Bart.

 _But he does,_ the Ambassador said calmly. _And so do you. In fact, it will be a good lesson for you to helplessly observe your own body murder your former friends. The first kills are always the hardest, my boy. Might as well get them over with._

 _Scarab, please!_ Jaime pleaded and practically screamed as he saw his body raise Bart’s head with a pincer sword before letting it fall limp again, blood trickling slightly from his nose. _We’ve fought side by side with these guys. Do something!_

 _I must do as designed parameters dictate,_ the Scarab answered back as he raised his right arm to deliver the killing blow.

As the sword swung down, it collided with a pale blue energy field. Blue looked around and saw the energy field was containing him in a bubble. He changed his swords back to his hands and quickly changed his left hand into a morning star, swinging his arm and hitting the barrier in rapid succession, causing blue sparks to fly off from the contact points.

 _Scarab, your attack is ineffective._ The Ambassador said in frustration. _Analyze this containment field._

 _Analysis already complete,_ the Scarab quickly answered. _Field displays energy signature consistent with the alien cooperative._

 _Scarab,_ the Ambassador replied. _Do you have the means to effectively circumvent this tech?_

 _I do,_ the Scarab answered. _A sonic attack…_

 _Don’t explain!_ The Ambassador shouted. _Do it!_

Blue’s left hand morphed back from the morning star and his right hand morphed into his sonic cannon. He leveled it at the barrier and fired.

“Ecrofnier S’tekcor elbbub htiw ym skcigam!” A female voice called out from down the street.

The energy rings of Blue’s sonic attack collided with the barrier a second after the barrier changed to purple color, simply dispersing the attack. Blue looked down where the female voice came from and saw Zatanna and Rocket down the street, both with their arms raised and hands pointed at him.

“I’ve reinforced Rocket’s force bubble with my magic’s,” Zatanna said. “Blue’s not goin’ anywhere. Eerf Lrigtab dna Eslupmi.” Zatanna crossed her arms in front of her as she spoke her next spell. The blue metal staple holding Bart to the brick wall and Batgirl to the tree disintegrated, causing both of them to groan as they regained their footing.

 _Ha!_ Jaime laughed, the happiest he’d been in months. _Don’t you get it, extraterrestre? Impulse and Batgirl were decoys. A distraction from Rocket and Zatanna’s real attack. Guess some first kills are harder than others._

 _Scarab!_ The Ambassador shouted. _Proceed with countermeasures._

 _There are no known countermeasures against this specific combination of magic and cooperative technology._ The Scarab rebutted.

“Totally crash!” Bart exclaimed as he approached Zatanna and Rocket. “Wish we had this kind of tech in the future. The Reach would have been feeling the mode a long time ago.”

“Unfortunately,” Rocket explained. “The Reach and the Cooperative have fought in the past. Without Z’s magic, Blue could have got out by now. I’m also unable to help in any fights until this is over, since I have to maintain the bubble around Blue.”

Sphere rolled up behind the group and let out a series of chirps, chimes, and engine revving sounds.

“Yep,” Batgirl responded to Sphere. “We’re ready to go.”

Sphere unfurled and became the super cycle. Bart climbed into the front seat, Batgirl took the driver’s seat, and Zatanna and Rocket climbed in the back.

 _Did you really have to hit Bart that hard?_ Jaime complained to the Scarab as he saw Bart wipe off the blood under his nose. With his metabolism, any damage was more than likely fixed by now, or at least well on its way to being fixed.

 _We were being attacked,_ the Scarab countered. _You have used necessary force to stop villains before, this was no different._

Rocket motioned her arms and Blue’s bubble prison followed to hover behind Sphere. Sphere lifted off the ground and took off to the East.

****

**Bialya**

**June 14, 05:19 UTC+2**

Blue looked out over the desert they were flying over. He saw three military warehouses near a canyon cliff. Sphere fly down over the cliff and turned in a wide arc to face the wall.

 _What do they hope to find here?_ The Ambassador questioned.

 _Insufficient data,_ the Scarab answered.

Batgirl rotated the handlebar controls on Sphere and brought out its plasma guns. She aimed at a hidden hangar door on the cliff wall and fired. When the blue plasma hit the doors, a loud explosion rung through the canyon, the metal doors groaned and were blown from their frame, falling into the canyon below. Sphere moved forward, through the smoke, into the hidden complex. The runway behind the door was lined with red lights as Bialyan soldiers came running toward the group, automatic rifles raised and aimed at them.

“We’ve got company!” Rocket said as she hovered out of her seat. “And I’m otherwise occupied maintaining this bubble around Blue!”

“Chillax, Rock,” Bart said while looking over his shoulder to her. “We’re prepped for Queen Bee’s tin soldiers.” Bart leaned forward and lifted out of his seat, placing his right foot on the backrest in preparation to take off.

“Mrasid!” Zatanna shouted and raised her left hand toward the soldiers. Their guns were pulled from their hands and lifted into the air above them.

“Hey!” Bart complained. “I was going to do that.” He sat back down and turned his head to look at Zatanna.

 _Only Bart would complain about not getting in on the action,_ Jaime chuckled.

“You can still knock ‘em out,” Zatanna consoled.

“Oh, yeah!” Bart said with glee. “Crash!” Bart quickly went back to his ready pose and kicked off the seat. He ran at superspeed, easily knocking the soldiers unconscious as he shoulder checked into each of them. He suddenly collided with someone very solid and he ricocheted off them and stumbled backward. Devastation grabbed onto his right ankle and hoisted him off the ground. “Hey! Hey, let go!” Bart protested as he flailed.

Mammoth jumped and collided with Sphere from the left side, knocking it out of the air and sending it skidding to the ground. Batgirl tucked and rolled from the driver’s seat to safety while Rocket flew out, only Zatanna was left on the ground when Sphere came to a stop.

“Rocket!” Batgirl called. “The force bubble!”

“Holding!” Rocket replied. “But I’m a sitting duck here.”

Shimmer ran towards Rocket, her hands and eyes glowing blue after she had her metagene activated by the Reach. She jumped, but Rocket noticed her, jumping back and out of the way. Shimmer landed on all fours, spinning to face her opponents as she stopped. The floor where her hands touched melted away, opening to the chamber below.

“You were fools to bring us here,” Blue told Rocket. “Queen Bee is our ally and her minions will destroy you.”

“If only these bubbles were soundproof,” Rocket sassed back as she gave Blue a glance over her shoulder.

Shimmer got back up and ran towards Rocket again, seeing she was distracted by Blue. Rocket kicked off the ground and flew into the air. Shimmer attempted to jump after her, but Batgirl jumped and tackled into her side, knocking her back to the ground. Batgirl then sparred with Shimmer to keep her off Rocket, making sure to not let Shimmer touch her with her hands.

 _Rocket!_ Jaime called out in his mind. _Look out!_

Mammoth jumped over Sphere, attempting to hit Rocket out of the air, but she noticed him in time. Rocket flew out of the way as Mammoth landed back onto the floor, his fist crashing into the stone, sending debris and dust flying.

Zatanna wasn’t too far away from him and leapt back as he changed his focus to her and swung at her. Zatanna readied herself and saw Devastation focus on her as well. Devastation casually threw Bart behind her, but with her super strength, he went flying and bounced off the floor once before skidding to a stop. Devastation and Mammoth both charged at Zatanna. “We don’t have time for this,” Zatanna groaned. “Tcerider ym seimene tsniaga hcae rehto!” Zatanna spoke her spell, raised her arms to point her hands at both Mammoth and Devastation and then quickly crossed her arms.

Both Mammoth and Devastation were lifted off their feet and were sent hurtling into each other. They then went crashing into Shimmer, causing all three to fall into the hole that Shimmer made earlier. Batgirl threw a pellet down the hole and it activated with a popping sound, filling the hole with a fast-acting foam, sealing them off from the group.

“Girlfriend,” Rocket started with delight. “Someday you have to tell me how you figure out those backwards words so fast!” She hovered down closer to the floor, but not quite landing.

“Maybe backwards is my native tongue,” Zatanna playfully replied.

“Seriously?” Rocket asked sarcastically.

“Come on,” Batgirl interjected. “Let’s get to work.”

They all walked toward a grouping of four stone obelisks while Sphere folding back into a sphere, Blue floating along with Rocket as she moved.

Zatanna walked with her right hand out in front of her, feeling the magical energies and remnants of the old temple. “Here,” she said as she stopped in front of the obelisks, with a large scarab image in the hieroglyphs on the wall.

“You, uh, sure you got the power for this?” Bart asked, hoping she did, but now actually seeing the immensity of the task at hand. He knew this was his new mission, free Jaime, so regardless of what happened now, he had to make sure this would work.

“Me?” Zatanna clarified, gaining a slight nod from Bart. “No.” She walked into the grouping of obelisks and up onto the shrine. “But I’ll summon it from those who do.” She turned around to face the center of the obelisks as Rocket flew down behind her and placed the bubble prison in between them, directly at the center of all the obelisks. Zatanna pulled out a glass vial from her stage coat, a black liquid sloshed inside. She pulled up the stopper and quickly downed the contents. The temple seemed to grow darker momentarily before all the shadows bent toward Zatanna, merging with her shadow. Her eyes became black for a second before returning to normal. A shiver rushed over her, making goosebumps appear across her skin.

“Everything good Z?” Rocket asked, in awe of the strange occurrence.

“Yeah,” Zatanna replied breathlessly. She took a second to gain her composure. “Just a lot of leftover magic here. I imagine this was a very popular spot for practitioners back in the day.” She felt the old magic course through her and find its home with her inner strength. She stretched her arms out and looked up to the ceiling. “Retne a ecnart ot eraperp rof eht lautir.” Zatanna’s hair began to move about as if a wind were passing through the room, but the air was strangely still. She then hovered off the ground and levitated above them, crossing her legs in a meditative pose and resting the back of her hands on her knees.

 _Man!_ Jaime groaned. _Wish I could ask what’s going on._

 _They doubtless plan to destroy Blue Beetle,_ the Scarab answered. _Ending you and this Scarab in the process._

 _Hermano,_ Jaime sassed back. _If that’s your only takeaway from our time together you haven’t learned a thing._

A whooshing sound came through the temple and the group turned toward the runway to see Green Beetle flying toward them.

“They all die now!” Green Beetle declared as his right hand morphed into his pincer sword.

“Uh,” Rocket said with fear in her voice. “Guys, this is all on you! I still got my own beetle to hold and Z’s smack in the middle of her mystic trance.” She kept her arms up and pointed at Blue, maintaining the bubble.

 _Scarab!_ Jaime yelled. _We have to help them! I don’t think they can take him._

 _That is the point Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab replied. _Your friends are no longer useful to the Reach and are a liability instead. They will be dealt with. Biosigns detected for Robin, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, and Bumblebee._

Jaime couldn’t get the Scarab to turn his head to see the battle. He kept hearing strange noises, like explosions, laser fire, and an elephant trumpet blast? All he could focus on was Zatanna hovering in front of him. _Please do whatever you’re gonna do._

“Uh, Z,” Rocket said to Zatanna. “We’re on the clock here.

Zatanna opened her eyes, revealing that they were now glowing a light blue, almost white color. “Ho yhtgim Sisi fo eht citsym baracs, evig em ruoy rewop!” A small stone scarab flew from another obelisk across the room and landed in the center of her forehead. It began glowing blue and traced Zatanna’s whole body in a blue aura. Suddenly a blue pillar of flames erupted behind Zatanna, growing at an easy 20 feet tall. The flames morphed amd a glowing blue spirit, in the form of a woman in Ancient Egyptian garb, appeared and mimicked Zatanna’s movements.

 _Wicked!_ /”Wicked!” Both Jaime and Rocket said at the same time.

“Tcurtsnocer siht elpmet!” Zatanna chanted as she raised her arms, causing the blue spirit to do the same. The temple rumbled as fragmented pieces of the old stone lifted off the floor and placed themselves back onto the walls and obelisks, fusing back together with magic. Once the temple was repaired, the huge scarab image behind Zatanna turned blue from the sandstone it once was. Blue light began emitting from the scarab on the wall and washed over the temple, making the hieroglyphs on the four obelisks surrounded Blue glow. “Tekcor, won!”

The bubble around Blue dissipated, allowing him to stand. Rocket kicked off the ground and flew into the air.

“Fools!” Blue shouted and turned his right hand into his plasma cannon, which he raised and aimed at Zatanna.

“You will all…” Green Beetle started, turning his sonic cannon into his plasma cannon and turned to also aim at Zatanna.

“Die!”/”Die!” Blue and Green Beetle shouted together.

“Esnaelc eseht snoipmahc!” Zatanna finished her ritual.

Bart saw things slow down to the microsecond, the green plasma slowly form and fire from Green Beetle’s cannon. He ran forward at superspeed and grabbed Wonder Girl’s lasso, which was still tied around Green Beetle, and ran toward Zatanna. His momentum allowed him to pick up Green Beetle and ragdoll him along. A few nanoseconds later, Blue’s plasma cannon fired its plasma at Zatanna. Bart came to an abrupt stop by the altar and used Green’s remaining momentum to swing Green around him and into the path of both plasma blasts.

Green Beetle took the plasma blasts to his chest, which sent some of that energy rebounding back toward Blue Beetle, knocking both to the floor. The altar began glowing in a bright pale blue light and engulfed both Beetles. Energy cracked and lighting arced off the altar, making all the heroes in the temple shield their eyes.

The light cast from the huge scarab on the wall, the spirit behind Zatanna, and Zatanna herself quickly began to fade. The walls returned to their sandstone color and the spirit returned to its realm. The stone scarab fell off Zatanna’s forehead and shattered on the floor. Zatanna’s magic also faded and she fell from her levitation. Bart surged forward at superspeed and caught her before she hit the ground, easing her to her feet.

“Zatanna, you okay?” Bart asked as she stood on her own. “Did it work?” Both Blue and Green Beetle stood up and faced them. “Or…are we back to square one? Who controls the beetles?” Bart’s anxiety was peaked, and he couldn’t help but ask questions in rapid succession without waiting for an answer.

“Let’s find out,” Zatanna said and raised her left hand toward Blue and Green. “Leaver ohw slortnoc ruoy sbaracs,” she struggled to get her spell out. The Blue and Green Beetle armor retracted into their Scarabs with a whirring sound, leaving Jaime and B’arzz in control of their own bodies. “It worked, Jaime and B’arzz O’oomm are back in control of their own bodies.”

“It’s true,” Jaime sighed with relief, raising his hands to feel his own torso again. “I can feel it. I’m free of the Reach. For real this time.”

“You’re one-hundred percent sure?” Batgirl asked. “Because we’ve been through this before.”

“I’m certain of it,” Zatanna said confidently and walked forward with Bart.

“Reading no external signal since Zatanna worked her mojo,” Tim confirmed as he looked at his holographic display from his wrist. A small satellite image was scanning Jaime and B’arzz. “Neither Beetle is in contact with the Reach.”

“Hey, hey, hey, hair-man-oh!” Bart said excitedly as he approached Jaime. “Congrats!” He raised his left hand to high-five Jaime.

Jaime gave Bart a quick smile but moved forward and wrapped Zatanna in a hug. “Thank you.”

 _Congratulations, Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said.

“Oh, right,” Jaime said to the Scarab. “Like you’re happy about this.”

“I am,” Bart said with a grin that couldn’t leave his face if he tried. “I swear.”

 _If this mistrust is your only takeaway from our time together,_ the Scarab replied, _you haven’t learned a thing. This scarab far prefers our partnership to being slaves of the Reach._

“You know,” Jaime responded. “I believe you.”

“Of course you do,” Bart said and raised his right hand to try and get the high-five he missed out on. “Up high.”

They high-fived, and Jaime was more than thrilled to being able to move his own body again.

 _It has been so long,_ B’arzz spoke telepathically to the group, while looking down at his own hands. _I had all but forgotten the sensation of controlling my own body. My gratitude knows no bounds._

“Uh,” Bumblebee started. “That’s great. But Queen Bee’s goons are waking up.”

“Which means it’s time to go,” Batgirl ordered the group.

****

**Blüdhaven**

**June 14, 05:24 EDT**

The Team just finished their debriefing with Nightwing and Jaime made his way to a cot. Everyone else was heading home, which left La’gaan lightly snoring on his own cot, Jaime, and Bart. Jaime turned away from the cot and was about to sit on it when he suddenly felt a pressure around his chest. He looked down and saw Bart squeezing him in a tight hug, pinning his arms to his side. The hug felt sincere and warm, Bart’s eyes were closed, and he had a grin on his face.

“Hey hermano,” Jaime sighed and smiled down at Bart.

“It’s so crash to have you back,” Bart said, his voice finally relaxed after his stress filled months of worrying.

“You know,” Jaime started, “if you wanted a hug back, you have to let my arms free.”

Bart’s eyes shot open in realization, he then let go and backed away a few feet at superspeed. Jaime raised his arms as an invitation and Bart surged back at superspeed into him.

“Thanks for not giving up on me, ese,” Jaime said as he hugged Bart back tightly.

“I knew it wasn’t you in control,” Bart replied and squeezed Jaime’s ribs. “I finally was able to prove it and got the Team to help the Scarab feel the mode.”

 _I assume I am still not permitted to comment on Bart’s bioscans?_ The Scarab asked.

“Correct,” Jaime responded.

“You’re not heading home?” Bart asked and broke off the hug to step back.

“No,” Jaime sighed and sat down on his cot. “Tensions have been a little high with my family. So, I want to get some sleep quick and tackle that head on when I’m rested.”

“Good thing Nightwing sent those messages to all our families,” Bart said with a smirk and sat on the cot next to Jaime’s cot.

“You don’t have to stay, ese,” Jaime said, seeing Bart settling down. Jaime remembered the fight in El Paso and felt regret for hurting Bart. “I’m so sorry for busting your nose.”

“It’s totally crash,” Bart said. “The Garricks know that I’m out and on a mission, plus I still owe you a meal from before. We can catch a quick nap, chill-hang for lunch, and then I can go with you back to your place to smooth things over. And the nose healed up in no time, super metabolism and all.” Bart pinched his nose just to show that it healed.

“Are you sure?” Jaime asked and laid down. He didn’t want to put Bart in an awkward situation, but he was super thankful for the support. He also didn’t want to cause any lasting damage.

“Totally!” Bart said and laid down. “I’ll set an alarm for 11. That will give us time to get up and get around for lunch.” Bart quickly pulled out his phone and set things up.

“Thanks man,” Jaime said with fatigue heavy in his voice. 

“Anytime,” Bart said excitedly. “If you ever need to chill-hang just let me know, shoot me a text, call me, send an email…” Bart looked over and saw that Jaime had already fallen asleep, his chest slowly expanding and contracting with his breathing. Bart couldn’t help but smile as he watched him sleep, before succumbing to his own fatigue.


	22. Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime is finally free of the Reach, now he has to learn to be himself again and try and repair bridges.

**Blüdhaven**

**June 14, 11:00 EDT**

Bart was startled awake by his alarm beeping on his phone. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at the cot next to him. Jaime was still there, and he was also beginning to stir. Bart smiled while looking at Jaime, which is naturally when Jaime opened his eyes saw Bart staring at him.

“Good morning ah-me-go!” Bart practically shouted with a blush spreading across his face.

“We basically just had a nap,” Jaime groaned as he sat up on his cot. He looked around and saw that La’gaan was nowhere to be found, they were alone in the warehouse. “It’s been forever since I actually slept when I wanted to.” Jaime stretched his arms above his head and his back cracked slightly.

“What do you mean?” Bart asked and sat up on his cot.

“The Reach had me on a very strict sleep schedule,” Jaime began to explain.

 _It is the healthiest sleep schedule for a human of your age bracket,_ the Scarab chimed in.

“I went to bed at 10 every night and was up by 6,” Jaime continued, ignoring the Scarab. “8 hours of sleep at the same time every day, whether I was actually tired or not.”

“That’s totally moded!” Bart replied. He didn’t know exactly why it was a bad thing, the Garricks made him go to sleep around that time, he only got to stay up for missions. Joan usually also got up around 6 or 7 to start her day’s chores.

 _The Bart Allen is confused,_ the Scarab said.

“Confused about what?” Jaime asked.

“Sorry,” Bart said sheepishly. “The Garricks have their own sleep cycle, which is very similar to what you just said, so it doesn’t sound all too strange to me.”

“Sorry hermano,” Jaime apologized softly. “It’s just not what I was used to. I usually stay up late playing video games, studying for a test, or finishing a project last minute.”

“Well,” Bart said, a smile coming back to his face as he remembered what they were going to do. “I guess we should get around and head out for lunch. I still owe you!” With that, Bart took off at superspeed and rushed into the showers.

“He’s not going to leave me alone, is he?” Jaime sighed to the Scarab. Jaime was happy that Bart was there, he was happy to be in control of his body again, but he also kind of wanted to crawl into his bed at home and disappear for a week or so. He’d been forced to socialize and be a full-time superhero for the Reach this whole time and he just wanted to retreat into his shell.

 _The Bart Allen has low serotonin levels,_ the Scarab explained. _While this is not a scan to break our agreement, the Bart Allen seems to be exhibiting higher levels of stress. Perhaps a conversation will increase his dopamine levels. Assure the Bart Allen that we are no longer slaves of the Reach._

“It almost sounds like you care Scarab,” Jaime teased and smirked to himself.

 _As this Scarab has stated before,_ the Scarab clarified. _This Scarab far prefers our partnership to being slaves of the Reach. The Bart Allen appears to be a close friend of yours and was instrumental in freeing us from the Reach. Perhaps this Scarab was too quick to try and eliminate the Bart Allen._

“That’s incredibly nice of you to say,” Jaime remarked.

 _Of course, this Scarab advises immediate evisceration should the Bart Allen be proven a threat,_ the Scarab added.

“That’s more like it,” Jaime chuckled and got up from his cot. He moved toward the shower room to get ready for lunch with Bart.

****

**Gotham City**

**June 14, 12:00 EDT**

Jaime and Bart were walking side-by-side through the streets of Gotham looking for a restaurant. Jaime checked his wallet, he had $15 in there, not much, and he knows that Bart wants to pay for this, but he just wanted to be sure.

“How about that one?!” Bart asked, excitedly pointing to a Mexican Restaurant.

“Do you have the money for that one?” Jaime asked. His stomach answered for him with an audible growl.

“Of course I do!” Bart exclaimed and pulled out his wallet. When he opened it, he had to have at least $50 in there.

“Why do you have so much money?” Jaime asked suspiciously.

“Jay use to run a few things,” Bart answered with a huge grin on his face. “He doesn’t run as much as he used to, so I pick up a few things here and there. I figured with this, I wouldn’t have to use Scavenger’s Rights anymore and I could find a better place to eat for when I payed you back.”

“Only if you want to amigo,” Jaime said, although he really wanted some unhealthy Mexican food after all the healthy food he’d been forced to eat the last two months.

“Then let’s get some grub in us,” Bart said and walked ahead of Jaime, leading him to the restaurant.

They got a seat, despite it being busy since it was noon in a big city, although they did gain a lot of glares being two teens out of school. This place had a completely authentic Mexican atmosphere, with stone mortar and pestles for the salsa, homemade tortillas, and everything Coke brand, even some stereotypical Mexican themes, like a mariachi band and some “spicier” items that weren’t actually Mexican.

“Everything smells and looks great in here!” Bart excitedly said as he surveyed the dining area. He didn’t seem to notice some of the suspicious looks cast their way from the older patrons.

“Sure does amigo,” Jaime said and picked up his menu to look things over.

“What can I start you with?” The waitress asked and pulled out a notepad.

“I’ll take a coke,” Bart answered.

“I’ll take a coke too,” Jaime responded.

“Maybe a plate of nachos to start with,” Bart chimed in as he looked in his menu.

“I’ll be right back,” the waitress said and walked off toward the kitchen.

“Everything alright Bart?” Jaime asked as soon as the waitress was away from the table.

“Yeah?” Bart answered in confusion, his head tilting to the side as he tried to figure out what Jaime meant.

 _The Bart Allen is confused by your question Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said. _Narrow your communication to a specific context._

“Alright,” Jaime said and rolled his eyes. He looked over and saw that Bart looked a little hurt at the sudden shift in Jaime’s tone. “Sorry, Scarab got a little chatty.”

“Everything crash with him?” Bart asked, looking more worried by the second.

“Everything is crash,” Jaime said and leaned forward on his elbows, folding his arms across each other on the table. “Scarab is just worried about your stress levels.”

“He’s worried about me?” Bart asked skeptically.

“He thinks we should talk again,” Jaime explained. “He wanted to let you know that we aren’t slaves to the Reach anymore, his words, and that he may have judged you too quickly.”

 _Those were not this Scarab’s exact words, Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab clarified.

“He just wanted to put your mind at ease, ese,” Jaime continued and ignored the Scarab.

“Well that’s nice of him,” Bart said, relaxing a bit and releasing the tension in his shoulders. “But I’m totally crash with taking you off-mode. I’m just happy to get you back.”

“Believe me,” Jaime said. “I’m happy to be back.”

“Two cokes,” the waitress reappeared next to them, placing their drinks in front of them. “One order of nachos and our complimentary tortilla chips and salsa. Are you guys ready to order your meals?” The waitress pulled out her notepad again.

“I’ll take a lunch enchilada supreme,” Bart said with a smile.

“And I’ll take a steak quesadilla meal,” Jaime said.

“Alright then,” the waitress wrote down the order and then took the menus. “I’ll put these in and enjoy your appetizers.” She walked back off toward the kitchen.

 _The meals and appetizers selected have an excess of carbohydrates,_ the Scarab said.

“That’s the point,” Jaime chuckled and popped some chips and salsa into his mouth.

“What’s the point?” Bart asked and ate some nachos and cheese.

“Scarab doesn’t like the fact that this food isn’t the ideal nutrition,” Jaime said with a mouthful of food. He swallowed before continuing, “the Reach and Scarab wanted me at my best, which was great and all, but nothing beats some junk food from time to time.”

“Totally agree with you there!” Bart said with a warm smile. “Nothing says a good time like junk food. Then again, as a speedster, nothing says a good time like food in general.”

Jaime chuckled and the two of them dug into their appetizers, choosing not to reenter their conversation until their meals came out, just to make sure the waitress didn’t overhear them.

“So,” Jaime started hesitantly as he situated his plate in front of him. “Are you sure you want to come back to my place and talk with my parents?”

“Totally sure,” Bart said while cutting his enchilada. He was vibrating slightly from anticipation for the food, but he couldn’t move at superspeed in public. “Now that we’ve crashed the mode, I should be able to tell people about my real mission.”

“Thanks again Bart,” Jaime sighed. He could feel his body relax, like a giant weight was lifted off his shoulders.

“Anytime Blue,” Bart smiled back. “Besides, nothing you did while under Reach control was your fault. Should be easy enough to convey that.”

“It felt like me though,” Jaime grimaced.

 _It was neither you, Jaime Reyes, or this Scarab that are responsible for our actions,_ the Scarab explained. _This Scarab’s programing was reconfigured to obey any command from the Reach without question or hesitation and this Scarab used your body to do so. My apologies for making you attack your friends._

“It wasn’t you Jaime,” Bart comforted, reaching across the table to reassuringly touch Jaime’s forearm. “The Reach are to blame, not you.”

“Thanks guys,” Jaime sighed and smiled.

“Guys?” Bart asked with a curious grin.

“You and Scarab basically said the same thing,” Jaime chuckled. “Guess we’ve spent a lot of time together if we are all starting to act the same.”

“Totally crash!” Bart exclaimed, earning a few glares as his outburst interrupted people’s conversations. “Sorry!” Bart said to the room.

“You are always a blast to hang out with,” Jaime chuckled as he whispered to be considerate to the other patrons.

“Plenty of chill-hanging time to come,” Bart promised and winked at Jaime. “Now let’s finish our meal and we can clear the air with your family.”

The two of them finished their meal in relative silence, Jaime enjoying some nutritious, if not the healthiest, food for the first time in a long time, and Bart just enjoying food with his freed friend. Of course, a Mexican meal couldn’t be complete without dessert and Bart was dying to know how churros actually tasted.

“These are so good!” Bart gushed as he picked up another cinnamon covered pastry and dipped it in the dulce de leche.

“Told you so hermano,” Jaime agreed, eating another one of his own churros. Thankfully Bart got them each their own dessert, so they didn’t have to share his favorite. Not that Jaime would have minded, but with their different eating speeds, Jaime would have been lucky to get any.

****

**El Paso**

**June 14, 15:15 MDT**

Jaime paced about nervously in his living room while Bart sat on the couch. No one was home yet, and the wait was killing Jaime’s nerves.

“Sit down Blue,” Bart pleaded again. “This isn’t doing you any good.”

 _The Bart Allen is correct Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab agreed. _Worrying about this conversation will only increase your anxiety._

“I can’t calm down!” Jaime blurted out. “I just can’t help but think that my relationship with my family won’t be the same again.”

“They’ll still be your family,” Bart stood up and stopped Jaime from pacing by grabbing onto his shoulders and forcing him to look at him. “Every family has fights. Grandma…I mean Iris,” Bart corrected himself with a chuckle, “argues with me all the time about calling her that and my stories about dad and Aunt Dawn.”

“That’s different,” Jaime argued. “You weren’t forced to act like a jerk to your parents. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get grounded.”

“If you do,” Bart said. “Let me know. I can totally sneak in, to chill-hang without your parents knowing.” Bart gave a devilish smirk. “How about we put on a movie? Take your mind off the upcoming conversation. Make it a comedy, something to lift your spirits.”

“I don’t think I could enjoy a movie right now,” Jaime admitted.

“Then how about a game?” Bart asked. “Should distract you and keep your mind focused on the controls. What games do you have?”

“I just got Street Fighter 5 for my PS4,” Jaime sighed and nodded toward the tv.

“Crash!” Bart said and moved to Jaime’s side to drape an arm over his shoulders. “Not sure what that is, but I’m sure it will keep us busy until your family gets home.”

The two of them booted up the system and loaded in their fighters before going to town on each other. Jaime was clearly the better video game player, since he had a lot of practice and he had the patience to let the game execute its moves. The system was “too slow” for Bart, who kept groaning in frustration when he lost. They lost track of time playing the game, not knowing anything changed until they heard the front door to the house open.

Jaime felt a lump rise into his throat and he suddenly felt very nauseous.

“You good Jaime?” Bart asked, noticing the sudden change in his friend. He paused the game and took the controller out of Jaime’s hands.

“What time is it?” Jaime whispered, not making eye contact with Bart.

“Uhh,” Bart stuttered and pulled out his phone. “5:34.”

“Jaime?” Bianca called from the doorway. “Is that you?” She started walking to the living room, a second set of footsteps followed her. She rounded the corner, Alberto in tow. When she saw that Jaime looked ill, panic washed over her face and she rushed to kneel next to him on the couch. “Are you alright?” She put the back of her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature.

“Hi Bart,” Alberto greeted, attempting to break the strange tension that fell over the room.

“Hi Mr. Reyes,” Bart returned the greeting with a smile. “Hi Mrs. Reyes.”

“What?” Bianca only now realized that Bart was also sitting on the couch. “Oh, hi Bart.”

Bart gently nudged Jaime in the ribs with his elbow.

“Mom, dad,” Jaime managed to croak out after he came back to his senses. “I want to talk to you.”

“I’ll get you a drink Jaime,” Bart said and took off to the kitchen at superspeed. Arriving a split second later with a bottle of water, back in his spot on the couch.

“You really are a speedster,” Bianca gasped as Bart reappeared.

“Oops!” Bart chuckled. “Forgot about the whole secret identity thing again. Good thing you already knew.”

Jaime took the bottle of water, opened it, and chugged a good portion of it.

“Want to take a seat?” Jaime asked his parents before continuing.

Bianca sat on the couch next to Jaime and Alberto sat in his chair.

“Is this about your mission to Bialya?” Bianca asked.

“How do you know about that?” Jaime asked and furrowed his brow.

“Gavin told us that you two,” Bianca gestured to both Jaime and Bart, “were part of a mission to some ancient temple.”

“Gavin?” Jaime questioned.

“Do you guys know anything else?” Bart asked.

“Gavin told us quite a bit,” Bianca added. “He came by with Bria last night. Said they wanted to let us know how dangerous the mission was.”

“We do know something was up with Jaime,” Alberto chimed in. “We assume it had to do with the Reach, seeing as that’s where his Scarab comes from.”

“We also weren’t born yesterday,” Bianca said with a smirk. “I know teenage mood swings can be pretty bad but acting like a completely different person isn’t normal. I may not be a detective or have any powers, but I do know my own son.”

“Why did you guys let me just blow off friends and act that way?” Jaime asked, still stunned by how much his parents knew.

“If our lives were in danger,” Bianca answered, “Nightwing would have let us know. Plus, if they were legitimate hormonal mood swings, we didn’t want to be overbearing parents.”

“Part of becoming an adult is figuring things out on your own,” Alberto chimed in. “We wouldn’t be doing our job as your parents if we jumped in at every problem, especially if we don’t know the whole problem.”

“Now everything is back to how it should be, right?” Bianca asked, hoping for a good answer. “This mission cleared up everything with the Scarab?”

“Everything is good,” Jaime sighed, still wrapping his head around the whole situation.

“Then that’s all I need to know,” Bianca smiled and pulled Jaime into a tight hug. After a minute she let him go and stood up from the couch. “Care to stay for supper Bart? Milagro is spending the night at a friend’s house, so we have an open seat.”

“Crash!” Bart said excitedly and threw his arms up in the air. “I mean, sounds good to me.”

The group of them chuckled and Bianca went to prepare supper while Alberto went to wash up.

“Feeling better now?” Bart asked and looked over at Jaime.

“A lot better, hermano,” Jaime sighed and leaned back on the couch.

“You boys better be all cleaned up for supper when it’s ready!” Bianca called in from the kitchen.

“Guess we should go wash up,” Jaime chuckled and stood up from the couch. He felt a sudden pressure on his back and over his ribs. He looked down and saw Bart’s arms wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides again, and Bart had his head resting in between Jaime’s shoulder blades, right over the Scarab. “What’s this one for?” Jaime could feel a blush creeping up on his cheeks.

“Still just so crash to actually have you back,” Bart said, his eyes still closed as he enjoyed giving his hug. He suddenly blinked his eyes open and let go of Jaime, taking a step back. “Sorry, that wasn’t crash,” he stuttered as his face turned a deep shade of red. “We still have to get the Reach off world and wash up for supper, and…” Bart was cut off with a hand on his shoulder.

“One thing at a time,” Jaime said, now turned to face Bart. “Let’s just enjoy some food and move from there.”

“Sounds crash,” Bart sighed and they made their way to wash their hands.

***

“So Bart,” Bianca started as they ate their meal. “How did you figure out that Jaime wasn’t himself?”

“It was my mission,” Bart said with a mouthful of food. He quickly swallowed it and cleared his throat. “Sorry, my main mission was to come back to the past and keep Jaime’s Scarab off-mode.”

“I thought you couldn’t tell us your mission?” Alberto asked.

“I couldn’t before,” Bart said. “But Wally seems to think that I can reveal more information as time goes on, since my existence in the past is more solidified.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Alberto chuckled and kept eating his supper.

“Did you always know that Jaime’s Scarab was going to go back,” Bianca thought of how Bart said it, “um, on-mode?”

“Yeah,” Bart admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “I wanted to stop it from ever going on-mode, but I didn’t know what triggered it.”

 _It should have been obvious that the catalyst to such an event would involve the Reach,_ the Scarab said to Jaime.

“It could have also been the first time I was captured,” Jaime replied.

“Maybe that’s how it happened in my future,” Bart pondered. “But with my involvement, the time stream changed.”

“I still don’t understand why Gavin and Bria came by to tell you guys about the mission?” Jaime questioned. “They helped with the ritual to free me from Reach control, but they didn’t even go with us.”

“I can’t speak for why he did it,” Bianca admitted. “But I’m glad he did. I knew your missions were dangerous, but I didn’t know how dangerous they could be.”

“We should totally call NM up after supper to let him know the spell worked!” Bart announced. “He’d want to hear the news.”

“Mamá, Papá, would you guys mind if Bart spent the night here?” Jaime asked, putting his fork down to discuss this with them.

“I don’t mind if he stays the night,” Alberto answered with a smile on his face.

“It’s the least we can do to say thanks for helping free you,” Bianca said warmly. “He might want to make sure it’s alright with his guardians first.”

“I can shoot them a text right now!” Bart said excitedly and pulled his phone out to send his message.

“How about we finish our meal and then you boys can go see about calling your friend and settling in?” Bianca advised. “I wouldn’t want this meal to get cold.”

They all agreed to finish their meal. Bart even got a second and third helping, since he didn’t have to hide being a speedster around them anymore. Bart managed to get the all clear from the Garricks.

***

“Where do you want to camp out?” Jaime asked once his parents had made their way upstairs.

“Dude it’s only 8:46!” Bart teased Jaime. “We have plenty of time before we feel the mode for the night!”

“I also know you hermano,” Jaime teased back. “You’re quick to decide what food to eat…”

“Everything!” Bart interrupted with a huge smile.

“…but you lack speed when making other decisions,” Jaime finished. “Either that or you don’t think your options through and end up making a potentially costly mistake.” Jaime crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for Bart to defend himself.

“How is our location to sleep and crucial decision?” Bart asked and threw his arms up in the air.

“It isn’t,” Jaime smirked. “Just decide where. The living room or my bedroom? If we stay downstairs, we can probably talk later than upstairs since we’ll be farther from my parents’ room, but then they’ll probably wake us up when they leave for work.”

“Then how about call Gavin down here,” Bart said after thinking for a minute. “Then we can sleep up in your room. I like being able to actually sleep in, seeing as this is my fist summer vacation.”

“Sounds crash,” Jaime agreed, making sure to use Bart’s terminology. Bart flashed Jaime his award-winning smile and Jaime pulled out his cell phone. He made sure to put it on speaker phone and he dialed Gavin.

“Is everything alright?!” Gavin answered abruptly after a good number of rings.

“Yeah,” Jaime answered back and gave Bart a questioning look and a shrug.

“Everything worked exactly as it was supposed to!” Bart exclaimed.

“Is something wrong ese?” Jaime asked.

“It’s almost 11 o’clock,” Gavin yawned. “I may be a shadow mage, but I do like to sleep at reasonable times.”

“Dude it’s almost 9 not 11,” Bart sassed and put his hands on his hips.

 _There is a time difference based on your geographic location on this planet Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab explained.

“¡Lo siento!” Jaime gasped. “I completely forgot about the time difference! And he can’t see you Bart!” Jaime waved his free hand at Bart who looked proud up until then for correcting Gavin’s “mistake.”

“It’s fine,” Gavin yawned again. “I’m awake now,” he chuckled, “what is it you wanted to talk about?”

“Why did you talk to my parents last night?” Jaime asked.

“Oh, that,” Gavin responded. “I thought it would help lessen the blow for you if they had a little bit of time to process the information.”

“But why tell them?” Bart asked.

“I think what Bart means to ask,” Jaime chuckled. “Why did you jump in before the mission was done?”

“You were being controlled Jaime,” Gavin answered after a long pause. “I know what that’s like, and I know you have to answer for things you did while you’re under the control of another. The more people you have in your corner when that time comes, the easier things will be.” Gavin explained things in a serious tone he had never used around them before. “Plus, it is always nice to keep your parents in the loop every once in a while.”

“Who are you talking too?!” Bria’s voice could be heard yelling from the other end of the phone.

“It’s Jaime and Bart!” Gavin called back.

“I thought I said we had a meeting in the morning!” Bria yelled back, her voice gradually growing louder, so she must have been getting closer to the phone.

“They were letting me know everything went well,” Gavin answered at a more normal volume as a door could be heard opening.

“Hello Bria!” Bart shouted into the phone. “Say hello Jaime!” Bart nudged Jaime in the ribs, causing the older boy to roll his eyes.

“Bart and Jaime say hello,” Gavin relayed the message.

“Hello boys,” Bria said on the phone, which must have been switched to speaker phone with how clear she was coming through. “Glad to hear that the ritual went well. Goodnight now, Gavin needs his beauty sleep for a meeting in the morning.”

“Ha ha,” Gavin laughed dryly. “Guess I can talk to you guys later since mommy dearest here wants me to go to bed.”

“Don’t start with me Cethin!” Bria threatened. Somehow the image of Bria waving a finger in Gavin’s face made both Jaime and Bart smirk.

“Goodnight NM!” Bart bid his farewell with his usual level of enthusiasm.

“Talk to you later Gavin,” Jaime said.

“Night!” Gavin replied and hung up the phone.

“Guess we make our way to my room then,” Jaime chuckled and both boys worked their way up the stairs.

After taking turns in the bathroom, getting changed and brushing their teeth, Bart making a real quick run home for his stuff, they made their way into Jaime’s room.

“You want the bed?” Jaime asked Bart.

“It’s your bed,” Bart answered matter-of-factly. “I’m crash on the floor.”

“To be honest,” Jaime admitted. “I’m a little tired of the bed. The Reach had me going to sleep at regular intervals for so long that I kind of don’t want to lay on it.”

“Then we can both camp on the floor!” Bart exclaimed. He quickly remembered that Jaime’s parents may be asleep to get up for their jobs later and toned himself down. “Why the sudden invite to your house anyway? Not that it’s not crash, just curious.”

“Oh,” Jaime sighed. “I guess that’s fair.” Jaime blushed slightly as he pulled the pillows off his bed, stuffed one in Bart’s arms, and threw the other one on the floor where he planned on sleeping. “I guess I’m just a little worried that this whole freedom thing will be temporary.” He scratched the back of his neck and pulled the extra blanket set out of his closet. “You were the only one who knew I wasn’t me, at least for sure, even if my parents thought something was up.” Jaime shifted between his feet uncomfortably. “I just want to make sure this whole thing sticks, and you are the closest friend I have, so if I wake up tomorrow as a slave to the Reach again, you’ll know.”

Both boys sort of stared at each other for a moment, each sporting their own shade of red on their cheeks. Bart had a goofy looking grin on his face and Jaime having a look of dread and vulnerability, not sure how Bart felt about his admission.

“Are you going to say something?” Jaime asked. His stomach was twisting up into knots, he didn’t like to make himself vulnerable and he didn’t want to risk his friendship with Bart.

“It’s crash dude,” Bart said in a surprisingly somber voice. He sat his pillow down on the floor where he planned on sleeping. He walked over and got his blankets from Jaime and laid them down by his pillow. He was surprised to feel a hand grip his shoulder. He spun around to see what Jaime wanted and was greeted with a warm hug. This was the first hug that Jaime had initiated and Bart wasn’t complaining. They stood there for a long before, tightly embracing one another.

“Thanks so much for not giving up on me hermano,” Jaime whispered in Bart’s ear. A tear trickled down Jaime’s cheek.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Bart whispered back.

They broke off their hug and laid down on the floor. Jaime laid along the side his bed, just in the opposite direction, so his head was toward the foot end. Bart laid along the foot of Jaime’s bed, his head mere inches of Jaime’s head, but they would have made a perfect right angle if their heads were touching.

Bart fell asleep first, finally able to truly relax in a long time. He had his left hand above his head as he slept on his stomach and snored slightly.

 _Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab spoke up. _This host is showing signs of increased dopamine around the Bart Allen. Based on all previous observations, the Bart Allen is a soothing and welcome presence, even if he is loud._

“What are you saying Scarab?” Jaime whispered, making sure not to stir Bart.

 _Perhaps, Jaime Reyes, this host should give thought to Bart’s previous wish to spend the future together,_ the Scarab said.

“I can’t believe you’re the one saying this,” Jaime admitted as he looked over at the sleeping Bart.

 _The health of this host, the Bart Allen, and the freedom of this Scarab all benefit greatly from the time spent between you and the Bart Allen,_ the Scarab explained. _Both Jaime Reyes and Bart Allen seem highly compatible._

“I’ll give it some more thought in the morning,” Jaime ended his conversation with the Scarab. He watched Bart sleep for a minute or so and then reached his hand up to grab Bart’s hand. He needed an anchor to remember that he was the one in control and not the Scarab, and Bart was the perfect anchor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the 3 month hiatus I randomly took. My first class had a lot of writing involved and I wanted to work on the Bart's First Holidays series so this got put on hold. But I'm back at it for as long as my classes don't involve a lot of writing, lol.


	23. New Weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Reach develops a new weapon to bring Blue and Green Beetle back into the fold.

**El Paso**

**June 15, 09:00 MDT**

Jaime stirred awake as the alarm on this phone blared next to his head. It had been a long time since he had a dreamless night, but it was a much-needed night of rest. He groaned as he pushed his elbows into the carpet on the floor of his bedroom. _I must have fallen asleep on my stomach,_ he thought to himself. He used his elbows to push himself up, his stomach still touching the floor, but able to get a better view of his room. As he blinked the blurriness out of his eyes, he remembered that he wasn’t alone. He glanced over and saw Bart beginning to stir.

“Good morning hermano,” Jaime greeting warmly and gave Bart a smile.

“Morning Blue,” Bart replied, pushing himself up to a similar position with his elbows.

That’s when Jaime felt a tug on his hand. His eyes followed his arm and down to his hand, which firmly held onto Bart’s hand. Bart’s eyes followed a similar path, his gaze meeting the paired hands as well.

“¡Lo siento!” Jaime blurted out and pulled his hand free of Bart’s. A blush quickly spread across his cheeks.

“No problemo Blue!” Bart said and pulled his hand back to himself. His blush was more noticeable than Jaime’s due to his lighter skin tone. “Guess that’s what happens when we fall asleep with our hands above our heads.”

“Yeah,” Jaime chuckled nervously. “I guess so.”

 _Tell the Bart Allen the truth,_ the Scarab scolded.

“Did you get good sleep?” Jaime asked, choosing to ignore the Scarab.

“Some of the best in a long time,” Bart answered. “You?”

“Same here,” Jaime responded. “It was the first actual night’s sleep where I didn’t dream or wasn’t awake while my body was actively asleep.”

 _Incoming communications from the Nightwing,_ the Scarab interrupted.

Just then, both Jaime and Bart’s phones chimed with a text message.

Nightwing: Mission briefing, 12:00 EDT.

“Guess we have an hour to get around and get up there,” Jaime sighed and pushed off the floor to stand up.

“Hair-man-oh!” Bart said while also standing up. “It’s only 9, we have hours till we feel the mode.”

“Apparently you forgot about the time zone difference,” Jaime chuckled and stretched his arms over his head.

“That’s so not crash!” Bart complained, but kept a smile on his face. “First one to the bathroom gets the shower!” Bart took off at superspeed, phasing through Jaime’s bedroom door and into the hallway.

“It’s going to be a long day,” Jaime sighed to himself and made his way to his closet.

****

**New York City**

**June 15, 11:55 EDT**

The metal doors opened to the research lab on the Reach ship. The Ambassador walked into the room, moving towards the Scientist at the center control terminals.

“Scans indicate that Blue Beetle has left El Paso,” the Ambassador announced. “Is the new Scarab-tech ready?”

“All initial tests were successful,” the Scientist responded. “The new Scarab repaired nearly any injury upon the subjects. Our enemies will have a harder time accessing it as well. However, since the new Scarab is embedded internally, it cannot deploy as many implements as the other models.”

“Will it be strong enough to go after Blue and Green?” The Ambassador asked.

“It will be,” the Scientist confirmed.

“Then it is time to bring Blue and Green back into the fold,” the Ambassador smirked. “Of course, we should take this time to send a message to Jaime Reyes that he cannot escape the Reach. I am sending a team to pick up a dear friend of his for use in our new Scarab program. Be ready to implant the Scarab when he arrives.” He turned on his heels and walked out of the lab.

“Of course,” the Scientist responded and bowed respectfully to the Ambassador.

****

**Blüdhaven**

**June 15, 12:00 EDT**

“Blue Beetle, B 22,” the female robot voice chimed into the full entry room. “Impulse, B 23.” The yellow light flashed and both Bart and Jaime stepped out of the zeta tube fully dressed in their hero attire.

“It’s about time!” Cassie groaned as she threw her arms in the air. “How is it that the person with superspeed and the person with an alien AI on his back are the last to make it to the meeting?”

“Since the person with the AI finally got to sleep on his own schedule for the first time in months,” Jaime sassed back, folding his arms in front of his chest.

 _As stated before Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab felt the need to correct him again. _This Scarab had you on the healthiest sleep schedule for a human of your age bracket._

“Oh, right,” Cassie remembered. “Sorry about that.” She shrugged her shoulders, hoping that Jaime would go easy on her.

“It’s no problem,” Jaime shrugged back. He was happy that people were letting it go, but he still felt like he needed to talk to someone about the whole ordeal.

“Ok,” Nightwing addressed the Team, which had swelled in size since its creation. He scanned to make sure everyone was there, Kid Flash (a special addition for this mission only), Superboy, Miss Martian, Batgirl, Beast Boy, Bumblebee, Guardian, Lagoon Boy, Robin, Wonder Girl, finally scanning over Blue Beetle and Impulse. “Now that we are all here, I am ready to go over our next mission. Our intel has a meeting between the Light and the Reach on Santa Prisca at 00:00 local time on June 19th. The meeting is to take place in a cave that has been repurposed into a conference room.”

“That’s totally the cave I helped scout out,” Bart whispered in Jaime’s ear, nudging him in the ribs lightly with his elbow.

“We are going to infiltrate Santa Prisca,” Nightwing continued. “Gather the intel we need to get the Reach off world and arrest the members of the Light. Any questions?”

“How exactly are we getting to Santa Prisca unnoticed?” Mal asked in disbelief.

“My bioship,” Miss Martian stepped forward. “She’s gotten us to and from Santa Prisca unnoticed on numerous occasions.”

“Who’s giving us this intel?” Garfield asked while scratching his head. A general murmur came over the crowd of teens as they all tried to piece the puzzle together.

 _I think it’s time to tell them,_ Miss Martian telepathically spoke to Nightwing.

 _Agreed,_ Nightwing relented. “I think it’s time to come clean with some stuff.” The crowd stopped their conversations to look up at Nightwing and Miss Martian. “We have people on the inside, working closely with the Light and the Reach.”

“You mean other than Blue here?” Karen said with an evil smirk on her face.

“Hey!” Bart shot back, giving Karen a glare.

“Just kidding Bart,” Karen snickered. “I like getting a rise out of you.”

“Blue’s defection to the Reach was an unfortunate complication,” Nightwing carried on, choosing his words carefully. “Thanks to Zatanna, some possible candidates for the Team, and the Team itself, Jaime is in full control of himself again. I am talking about Aqualad and Artemis.”

“What?!” Cassie shrieked.

“You mean to say,” Karen spat at Nightwing, no longer finding the situation amusing. “You let us mourn Artemis’ death, when she was really alive?!”

“Everyone,” Miss Martian stepped up to try and calm the crowd. “It was needed to make sure the bad guys believed she was dead.”

“You knew about this?!” Mal shouted up at Miss Martian.

“She didn’t know,” Nightwing defended Miss Martian. “Not right away. She discovered the truth during the infiltration of the Reach ship to free Blue, Impulse, Beast Boy, and the captured teens.”

“That was when you brain blasted Aqualad!” Garfield gasped, throwing his hands over his mouth. “No wonder you were so distracted afterwards.”

“So,” Barbara spoke up, she remained unusually quiet during the whole ordeal. “Your capture by Deathstroke was intentional. You had to be the one to heal Aqualad in order to keep everything a secret.”

“Wait a second!” Bart blurted out and moved at superspeed to Wally. “That’s why you’ve been so crash about Artemis’ death this whole time!”

“Afraid so,” Wally admitted with a shrug. “I hated lying about it, but hopefully this mission will make it worth it.” Wally shot Nightwing a glare, emphasizing that he hoped this mission would be a success, but that he was not happy with how it all played out.

“Worried I’d have the plan feeling the mode?” Bart asked, raising an eyebrow at Wally.

“Kind of,” Wally chuckled and nudged Bart with his elbow. “Plus, Nightwing had some suspicions about your agenda from the future, so he wanted to make sure everything was above board with you before saying anything.”

“So, if this all plays out right,” Jaime slowly put all the pieces together. He didn’t really know Artemis or Aqualad personally, but he knew the works they had done in the public eye. “That means the Reach will be kicked off world?”

“That’s the plan,” Nightwing answered. “You won’t have to worry about them for a long time.”

“Crash!” Bart shouted and burst back to Jaime at superspeed, throwing an arm over his shoulders. “Means you’re almost completely free of them!”

“So, for the plan,” Nightwing raised his voice slightly to try and bring everyone’s attention back. “Aqualad and Artemis will remain undetected as long as they possibly can, with the hope of having them help us with a surprise attack. Miss Martian will disguise herself as Deathstroke, we believe we can corner him away from the others long enough to make the switch. Once we get the intel we need, Batgirl, Kid Flash and myself will cut off the Light’s immediate escape while Guardian, Bumblebee, and Superboy cut off the Reach’s immediate escape.”

“What about the rest of us?” L’gann grumbled. “Don’t tell me that we get the soft gig again.”

“The Light always has a contingency plan,” Nightwing answered. “The rest of you will infiltrate and disguise yourselves as the Light’s security forces. When the Light inevitably sends them in against us, you’ll spring into action and assist us in taking them down. Any questions?”

“How do we keep ourselves from attacking one another accidently?” Cassie asked. “The whole plan sounds very thought out and put together, but if we’re disguised as the enemy, how will we know who is who?”

“Simply take off the masks,” Nightwing answered. “All of the Light’s security guards wear masks with night vision goggles, so keep any needed equipment on your person and trade out the black mask for whatever you brought. Anything else?”

The room fell silent, awaiting the next set of orders.

“Good,” Nightwing clapped his hands together. “Then make sure you adjust your sleep schedules as needed, because we are flying down to Santa Prisca on June 18th around 20:00 EDT. Until then, you’re all dismissed.”

The group began to disperse.

“Got any plans for the day?” Bart asked as Jaime began walking over to the zeta tubes.

“Not really,” Jaime shrugged. He didn’t really want to be alone, but he really didn’t know too many of the other heroes beyond missions and small amounts of Cave time. “Milagro is still at her friend’s house and my parents are at work.”

“Want to come have lunch at the Garrick’s?” Bart asked with a smile.

“They won’t mind another person?” Jaime asked, hopeful that he wouldn’t be spending time alone.

“It’s totally crash!” Bart exclaimed. “Let me give them a call.” Before Jaime could respond, Bart pulled out his phone and dialed their number.

 _Intercepting transmission,_ the Scarab spoke up.

“Hey Mrs. G! Got a question for you!” Bart started.

 _I really shouldn’t be eavesdropping like this,_ Jaime complained.

“Is everything alright?” Joan asked, her tone concerned.

 _This communication concerns us,_ the Scarab protested. _Being proactive now means being prepared for later._

“Yeah, everything’s crash,” Bart answered while talking with his free hand.

“Was your mission a success?” Joan asked, her tone becoming more relaxed.

“Yep, mission was a success,” Bart answered. “The Scarab is totally feeling the mode.”

“And Jaime is doing alright?” Joan asked.

“Actually, my question is about Jaime,” Bart said. “He’s good, he just didn’t have any plans for lunch. Would it be alright if he came over to eat with us?”

“That’s completely fine with me,” Joan answered. “I’ll let Jay know we have a guest coming.”

“Thanks so much Mrs. G!” Bart exclaimed. “See you soon.”

“See you soon Bart,” Joan replied.

“They are totally crash with you coming over for lunch,” Bart turned to Jaime and hung up the phone. “We just need to head on over.”

“Sounds good ese,” Jaime smiled and turned back toward the zeta tube. He only made it a few steps until a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around to see Miss Martian looking at him with a soft smile on her face.

“Is everything alright Jaime?” M’gann asked. She kept her eyes locked onto Jaime’s eyes, showing empathy in every motion and facial expression.

“Is something wrong Blue?” Bart asked, concern lacing his voice.

“Everything’s good,” Jaime gave a half smile back. “You’re not reading my mind, are you?”

“I don’t have to read your mind to feel the anxiety rolling off of you,” M’gann replied.

“Lo siento,” Jaime sighed. “I’m just a little on edge right now. I’ll feel better with the Reach gone.”

“It’s not a problem Jaime,” M’gann said in a soothing voice. “I can’t imagine what it was like to go through what you went through. Just know that I am available to talk to, so is Black Canary. Obviously, we want the Reach off world as well, so when this is all wrapped up, please talk to one of us. Or if you aren’t comfortable with talking to us, I can find someone you are comfortable with.”

“Gracias,” Jaime let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll definitely see you guys once this is over.”

“Take care of yourself Jaime,” M’gann said before walking over towards Nightwing and Conner.

“You sure you’re good Jaime?” Bart asked, looking up at Jaime with a look of concern.

“Huh?” Jaime was stunned briefly, he forgot that Bart only went to his actual name when he was truly concerned. “I’m good for now. Let’s get some lunch.” As much as Jaime wanted to talk about everything, he didn’t want to do so in the Team’s hideout in front of everyone. Thankfully, Bart took the hint and they made their way over to the zeta tubes.

“Blue Beetle, B 22,” the female robotic voice chimed as the zeta tubes scanned each of them. “Impulse, B 23.” The flash of yellow light transported them to Central City.

****

**Central City**

**June 15, 11:48 CDT**

With a yellow flash of light, Jaime and Bart arrived in Central City. It always took Jaime a moment to reacquaint himself to the bright colors and bustle of a large city, but it was a welcome change. The city was alive, people moving from place to place, some on a lunch break, some jogging for exercise, and some simply enjoying the outdoors. Bart spun in a circle and returned to his civilian clothes and Jaime retracted his armor.

“This way!” Bart motioned Jaime to follow him down the street, walking away from the densest part of the city, but still nowhere near the countryside. The buildings changed from skyscrapers to brownstones and from brownstones to houses. Bart walked up to a modest looking house, complete with a white picket fence. “I don’t think it has ever taken me this long to get here!”

“Sorry ese,” Jaime chuckled. “I don’t have superspeed like you do.”

“It’s crash,” Bart waved off the apology and smiled. “Just forget sometimes that I can move that slow.” Bart walked up to the front door and opened it. “We’re here!” He kicked off his shoes, with Jaime following suit.

“Welcome back Bart!” Joan walked out from the kitchen to give Bart a warm hug. Bart hugged her back with the same gusto he did with everything. She let go of the hug and looked over at Jaime. “And this must be Jaime,” Joan said and gave Jaime a once over before walking over to give him a warm hug as well.

“Uh,” Jaime let out a sudden noise. “Hi.” He half returned the hug, not really expecting it.

“There’s no need to be shy,” Joan giggled as she let Jaime go and turned to walk back to the kitchen. “I’ve been part of the superhero life for too long to know that you have to hold the ones you love as often as you can.” She disappeared back into the kitchen; the smell of food wafted through the house.

“Now I see where you get your hugging nature from,” Jaime teased as him and Bart walked into the living room.

“Actually,” Bart said. “I have always been a hugger; it was crash to find out that Joan is a hugger too.”

“Nice to have you home,” Jay spoke up from his recliner. He picked up the remote control to the television and powered it down.

“Nice to be home!” Bart burst over at superspeed and leaned down to give Jay a hug.

“Nice to have you here Jaime,” Jay said once he broke off the hug with Bart.

“Thanks for having me over sir,” Jaime said, not moving to hug Jay. He awkwardly crossed his arms in front of his chest and rocked on the balls of his feet.

“No need for that,” Jay chuckled as he stood up. “You can call me Jay, Mr. Garrick, or Mr. G, whichever works best for you.” He reached his hand out and shook Jaime’s hand. “Now you boys go take a seat at the table. I’ll help Joan bring the food out. I’ve learned the hard way not to make Joan wait for too long.”

“I heard that dear!” Joan called out from the kitchen with a laugh.

“I can’t get away with anything,” Jay laughed and walked into the kitchen.

“Relax Blue,” Bart playfully elbowed Jaime in the ribs. “Everyone here knows about the superhero life, so we can be completely open.” Bart led Jaime into the dining room and took his usual seat at the table, left of Jay. Jaime sat next to Bart.

Jay and Joan carried in four plates loaded with food, chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and carrots. Jaime immediately noticed that Jay’s and Bart’s plates were loaded fuller than his and Joan’s. They disappeared into the kitchen a second time, reappearing with glasses, a pitcher of iced tea, and a plate with rolls and butter.

“Thanks so much Mrs. G!” Bart exclaimed as he looked at all the homemade food in front of him.

“There is so much food,” Jaime said breathlessly.

“It’s something we have to do with the increased metabolisms speedsters have,” Joan chuckled. “If I didn’t fill your plate enough, there are always leftovers in the kitchen.”

“This is more than enough food,” Jaime replied with a smile. “Thanks.”

“Make sure you make room for dessert,” Jay said. “I believe Joan was making her special peach cobbler.” Jay said a quick blessing over the meal, and they all began eating their mountain of food.

****

**New York City**

**June 15, 15:33 EDT**

“Let me go cabrón!” Paco shouted as two Reach guards drug him into the laboratory.

“So this is the one called Paco Testas?” The Scientist asked as she examined him.

“Who’s asking puta?” Paco responded, shooting her a dirty look.

“Place him on the table,” the Scientist ordered the guards.

They drug him to the procedural table, Paco fighting them every step of the way, but against trained soldiers, he wasn’t much of a match. He was quickly secured to the table by metal cuffs on his wrists, ankles, and one over his waist.

“This specimen is much larger than our others,” the Scientist looked at a digital chart as she circled the table.

“¿Me estás llamando gordo?” Paco spat at the Scientist.

“While you do have a higher percentage of body fat compared to most of our test subjects,” the Scientist clarified. “You also have more muscle mass and a larger skeletal structure. While your bodily proportions aren’t ideal for your species, are aren’t obese.”

“Enough with the pleasantries!” The Ambassador shouted. “He is here to undergo the procedure, not provide us with a psychological profile!”

“Of course,” The Scientist bowed her head respectfully and grabbed her scalpel.

“¡No me toques!” Paco shouted and tried to pull free of his restraints, but flesh and blood was no match for the alien metal.

The Scientist lifted Paco’s shirt, exposing his chest. She never once grabbed anything remotely resembling anesthesia before pushing the sharp blade in through his skin. As much as Paco screamed or tried to move away from her, she kept cutting deeper. He eventually passed out from the pain; a new hole carved into his chest cavity. The Scientist picked up a red and black metallic beetle, similar to Jaime’s but resembled a silverfish instead of a scarab. The beetle shook to life as the Scientist lowered it to the wound. It’s two long black antennae feeling forward as its red eyes lit up. Using its long and thin black legs, it scurried out of the Scientist’s hands and onto Paco’s chest, crawling to the wound. It paused for a moment, possibly making a quick calculation with its computer mind, then it scurried into the wound, vanishing in a small spurt of blood.

For a moment, the lab was entirely quit. The Ambassador and Scientist waiting with bated breath for the new beetle to take hold.

Paco suddenly screamed and woke up, arching his back against the pain. His wound began to stitch itself shut, in a similar manner to how the other beetles materialized weapons. Once it was patched up, Paco laid back on the table, completely still. The restraints holding him down clicked open, allowing him to sit up on the table.

“Excellent work!” The Ambassador cheered as he clapped his hands together once. “Is he ready to go fetch Blue and Green?”

“He is ready,” the Scientist answered with a cold smirk on her lips. “As stated before, this model is more for beetle retrieval and less enforcer or scout work, but it is sufficiently powerful to bring down another beetle.”

“Perfect,” the Ambassador grinned. “What shall we call this one?”

“I believe the proper name would be Blood Beetle,” the Scientist answered. “It attached itself to the host’s cardiovascular system, the primary organ of which this species calls the heart.”

“Blood Beetle,” the Ambassador called. Paco turned his head toward the head Reach officer. “Head down to Taos and get Green Beetle for me. On your way back, make a stop and apprehend Blue Beetle as well.”

“Yes, Ambassador,” Paco responded in a monotone voice. The pores on Paco’s skin began flowing with a black secretion, until he had armor very similar to Black Beetle, with a few blood red places such as his faceplate, between the joints, and the tips of the beetle’s legs. Once it solidified, a process that only took a couple seconds, he stood up and extended his blood red wings, taking flight and heading to Taos.

****

**Central City**

**June 15, 16:03 CDT**

“Wait,” Jaime chuckled. “You really had a trio of villains named Winky, Blinky, and Noddy?” He leaned back on the couch in the living room, enjoying the company and hearing the older stories of the older hero. Bart sat next to him, while Jay sat in his recliner and Joan sat in her recliner.

“Sure did,” Jay responded with a chuckle. “They even invented a ray gun that changed people’s personalities. Made a lot of good people do bad things.”

Jaime’s phone began to ring.

“Hola,” Jaime answered his phone. He caught a glimpse that it was Brenda who was calling him, so he automatically switched back to Spanish.

“Jaime!” Brenda sounded frantic on the other end of the phone. “Have you seen Paco?”

“No,” Jaime said, although it came out more like a question. “I haven’t even been home all day.”

“I just don’t know where he is,” Brenda rambled. “We were supposed to have lunch together and he just didn’t show up. I tried texting and calling him, but he hasn’t answered. He isn’t like this; I know something is wrong. Since you’re a hero now and you come a find him?”

“I’m on my way,” Jaime answered and hung up his phone.

“Everything alright?” Bart asked, his usual chipper tone replaced with one of concern.

“One of my friends is missing,” Jaime answered. “I got to head back home and try and find him.”

“Need any help?” Bart asked. “I can cover a lot more ground a lot quicker than you can.”

“As long as it’s alright with Mr. and Mrs. Garrick,” Jaime said with a smile.

“It’s fine by us,” Joan answered.

“The life of a superhero is never boring,” Jay said warmly. “Just watch yourselves out there.”

“Thanks for having me over,” Jaime said as he stood up.

“You’re more than welcome any time,” Joan said with sincerity.

“Be back before curfew,” Bart said as he and Jaime grabbed their shoes and walked out the front door.

They made their way to the zeta tube to get to El Paso.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations
> 
> Cabrón- Bastard/Asshole  
> Puta- Bitch  
> ¿Me estás llamando gordo?- Are you calling me fat?  
> ¡No me toques!- Don’t touch me!


	24. Blood Beetle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime battles with Blood Beetle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a tiny gore warning for this chapter. Nothing in great detail, but I figured I would be nice to give everyone a heads up.

**El Paso**

**June 15, 15:15 MDT**

“Blue Beetle, B-2-2,” the female robotic voice chimed. “Impulse, B-2-3.” A flash of yellow light delivered Jaime and Bart to El Paso. Both were dressed in their street clothes, but Bart had his backpack with his Impulse outfit in it.

“So, where did Brenda say to meet up?” Bart now thought to ask. “Or where are we starting to look?”

“She didn’t really give me anything to work off of,” Jaime admitted and brought his hand to his chin. “Guess we can swing by Paco’s place first, then Brenda’s.”

Jaime led Bart to a different part of town, closer to the El Paso International Airport. The traffic was a little thicker here than near Jaime’s house, the sidewalks had more people, and they were closer to various stores and restaurants.

“I didn’t know so many restaurants were down here!” Bart gasped as they walked past new sights for him. “There are two different, um, can-tin-ah’s next to each other.”

“Cantina, hermano,” Jaime chuckled as he corrected Bart’s pronunciation. “Maria Lindas Cantina and Rocky’s Bordertown Cantina, they’re both primarily bars so we can’t really go in there.”

“That’s so moded!” Bart complained as they continued walking by. “Why even have totally crash restaurants if they don’t let everyone in?”

“Alcohol, ese,” Jaime chuckled and rolled his eyes. “We’re not old enough to drink any, so they don’t want to get in trouble with the law by accidentally serving us. Now come on, we’re supposed to be looking for Paco.” Jaime put a hand on Bart’s shoulder and lightly pushed him past the restaurants and into the residential streets, away from the highway.

“So,” Bart said after a few moments of walking alongside Jaime. “What does this Paco look like?”

“¿Cómo?” Jaime asked.

“I’ve never met Paco,” Bart clarified. “I didn’t even know you had a friend named Paco until today.”

“Sorry,” Jaime responded. “Sometimes I forget that you haven’t been around for that long.”

Bart felt a warm feeling in his chest, he definitely enjoyed hearing that Jaime thought of him as an old friend.

“Here,” Jaime said as he pulled out his phone to show Bart a picture of Jaime, Paco, and Brenda.

“You were tiny!” Bart teased as he looked at the picture, taking in as much detail about all three of them as he could.

“¡Cállate!” Jaime exclaimed and pulled his phone back from Bart. “It was before I got the Scarab, so it was before I began all the physical training with the Team.”

“Just teasing!” Bart quickly defended himself. “How come you don’t talk about Paco or Brenda often?”

“Paco dropped out of school,” Jaime explained. “So I don’t see him a whole lot anymore. Brenda still goes to school with me, but she is dating Paco, so most of her free time is spent with him. Plus being a superhero is kind of a full-time job and I didn’t know how much of my personal life I was supposed to share with everyone.”

“I still gotta say,” Bart said with a smirk. “This whole retro secret ID thing is still boggling. Why hide how awesome we are?”

“Because, ese,” Jaime tried explaining again. “It’s about protecting yourself and the people close to you. If everyone knew who you were, paparazzi would be on you 24/7 and the bad guys would know which house to go to get revenge. If you have family or friends, bad guys would have an easy way of getting to you.”

“I think I got it,” Bart said and scratched his head. “Just one question.”

“What’s that?” Jaime asked, curious as to what Bart had to ask now.

“What was that word you used?” Bart’s brow furrowed as he tried to say it. “Papa…something.”

“Paparazzi?” Jaime clarified. “It’s a bunch of reporters with cameras. They mainly go after celebrities when their shopping or at restaurants. They almost never leave them alone. This is his place.” Jaime came to a stop in front of an apartment building. “He’s apartment 23B.”

“Why 23B?” Bart asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Jaime shrugged. “That’s just how apartments are labeled. Scarab, get any readings from inside?”

_Negative,_ the Scarab said. _The dwelling of the Paco Testas is empty._

“Scarab says it’s empty,” Jaime said to Bart.

“It’s going to take forever to search this whole city at this pace!” Bart complained and pretended to have his knees buckle from strain.

“Fine,” Jaime chuckled. “Let’s suit up and search.” Jaime led Bart into an alley, making sure that no one was looking. Jaime’s armor deployed from the Scarab, surrounding him in his familiar blue and black armor. Bart spun in a circle like a blur and when he stopped, his tan and red superhero outfit was on. “You can drop your backpack off at my house. I’m going to take to the sky and try to scan as much of the city as I can.”

“Be back in a flash,” Bart said with a smirk. He disappeared at superspeed, causing a small dust plume in his wake.

Jaime rolled his eyes and smiled, extending his wings and kicking off the ground. He morphed his right hand into his scanner and slowly began spinning in a circle. His phone began to ring.

_Incoming communications from the Brenda Del Vecchio,_ the Scarab said. _Connecting to your cellular device._

“¿Hola?” Jaime answered as his Scarab connected to his phone for him, so he didn’t have to pull it out of his pocket.

“Hello brother,” a deeper voice answered on the other end of the phone. It sounded like Paco, but had a slightly more metallic tone, reminiscent of Black Beetle.

“Where’s Brenda?!” Jaime growled.

“Be calm brother,” the voice answered in a smug tone. “The Brenda Del Vecchio is unharmed. Come to your host’s high school and the Brenda Del Vecchio will be freed. Do not come with the meta meat.” The phone disconnected.

Jaime transformed his hand from the scanning device back to normal and kicked his jetpack into overdrive.

_The likelihood this is a trap, nearly 95%,_ the Scarab warned. _Suggested tactic, contact the Bart Allen as backup._

“Didn’t you hear him?!” Jaime exclaimed. “He told me to come alone or Brenda would be hurt.” Jaime flew to his high school and landed on the sidewalk just outside the doors. “Scan the building.” Jaime held his hand up and morphed it into his scanning device.

_Scan complete,_ the Scarab answered after a second. _The Brenda Del Vecchio, the Paco Testas, and a Reach Beetle unit inside the building. Biofeedback indicates that the Paco Testas and the Reach Beetle unit are sharing a host body._

“They put a Scarab on Paco?” Jaime questioned as he changed his hand back to normal.

_Insufficient data,_ the Scarab answered. _Based on initial scans, the unit does not appear to be a Scarab like this unit, but it does give off energy signatures consistent with Reach technology._

“Guess we head in then,” Jaime sighed and opened the front door. “Keep on high alert.” Jaime walked to eerily empty halls of the high school. With only minimal lighting, long shadows were a constant down the barren hallways. Empty classrooms offered bad memories as Jaime passed by. “Any idea where they are?”

_Scans indicate the gymnasium,_ the Scarab answered.

“You couldn’t have mentioned that earlier?!” Jaime groaned as he corrected his path from pointlessly roaming to a direct destination. Jaime made his way to the doors to the gym and attempted to walk with stealth. He peaked his face up to peer in the window of the door. Brenda and a Beetle warrior, like Black Beetle but with red accents on his armor, were inside. Brenda was seated on the floor in the middle of the gym while this new threat loomed over her.

“There’s no point in hiding brother,” the Reach warrior spoke and turned to face the door Jaime was hiding behind. “I can scan for you as easily as you can scan for me.”

Jaime sighed and stood up. He opened the door to the gym and put his hands up in surrender. “I’m here, now let Brenda go!” Jaime stopped about 20 feet away from them.

“I don’t think so,” the Beetle warrior said with a smug smile. He raised his right arm and it changed into a weapon like Blue’s plasma cannon. He fired a red beam of energy at Jaime’s head.

Jaime put his left arm in front of his face to protect himself. Jaime’s arm was hit by the beam, but instead of stinging or sending him flying back, the red energy encased his arm and hardened into a crystalline shell.

_Weapon systems offline in targeted extremity,_ the Scarab announced.

Jaime’s new red cast made his arm feel an extra hundred pounds heavier, causing his arm to fall to his side.

“Brenda run!” Jaime called out.

“I don’t think so meat!” the Beetle warrior replied. The beetle on his back sprouted four spiky tendrils and two of them went jutting at Brenda.

In the blink of an eye and with a flash of red, Brenda was no longer next to the Beetle warrior and was placed next to the exit of the gym, Impulse standing next to her.

“Gotta agree with Blue here, run,” Bart said in a calm tone and a smile. Brenda ran from the gym. Bart burst over to Jaime at superspeed, eyeing up his new red arm. “Who are we dealing with here? What’s up with your arm? And why didn’t you wait for me before coming in here?” Bart asked his series of questions in rapid succession.

“Didn’t catch a name,” Jaime groaned back. “I just know that it’s Paco in there. The arm was hit by some sort of weapon of his and Scarab said that the weapons in this arm aren’t working now. And what are you even doing here? I didn’t tell you where I was going because I was told to come alone.”

“I totally got a message from you to come to the gym at your high school,” Bart sassed and pulled out his phone, completely ignoring their opponent. He showed his phone to Jaime.

Jaime: The Brenda Del Vecchio is at the high school gym with the Paco Testas and a Reach Beetle.

“The name is Blood Beetle by the way,” Blood Beetle announced, regaining their attention as he fired another beam of red energy at Jaime’s head.

Jaime wasn’t paying attention and the beam hit him directly in the face. The red energy encased his head and hardened into the same red crystal.

_Sensor units offline,_ the Scarab announced.

“Blue!” Bart yelled and rushed at Blood Beetle with superspeed.

Blood Beetle’s tendrils swung out and hit Bart across the chest with a solid blow, sending him flying back and towards the bleachers. Bart collided with a solid thud against the hard plastic of the bench seats.

“Reach command gave me information on you, Impulse,” Blood Beetle said and turned to face him. “I’m prepared for your superspeed.”

Jaime’s vision was obscured by red crystal, making things very hard to see. But the next thing he knew, his vision cleared with a loud cracking sound. He spun around to see Bria holding two halves of the red crystal that was just encasing his head, one in each hand. Gavin stood next to her, holding his phone out.

“Got your message,” Gavin smirked. “A little surprised we were called into active duty, but glad to help.”

“I didn’t message you,” Jaime looked at them confused as he attempted to scratch his neck out of reflex but was stopped with his left hand still trapped in the red substance. Bria dropped the red crystals she was holding and broke the ones surrounding Jaime’s arm.

_Apologies Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said. _When you decided to go against the advice of this unit, I sent a message to both the Bart Allen and the Gavin Cethin. All have proven instrumental in freeing this unit from Reach control. With too little data about our opponent, the Blood Beetle, this unit could not risk becoming slaves to the Reach again._

“So, who are we dealing with?” Bria smirked as she looked over at their new opponent. “Do I get to thrash another Reach Beetle?”

“That’s Blood Beetle,” Jaime filled them in. “We can’t hurt him, that’s my friend, Paco, in there. I don’t know how to get the Beetle off him though.”

_This Scarab will attempt to scan to find a solution to your problem,_ the Scarab said.

“So no carnage?” Bria asked in disbelief. “I’m done with this Reach nonsense! I just want to let loose every once in a while.”

“I’ll check on Bart,” Gavin said. “Bria, keep him distracted without killing or maiming him. Do whatever you have to do Blue.” Gavin ran over to Bart and looked him over.

Bria charged Blood Beetle, whose black and red tendrils lashed out against. Bria grabbed ahold of two of them as they came at her, but the other two cut into her ribs. She pulled with her strength and lifted Blood Beetle off of his feet and toward her. When he was close enough, she let go of the tendrils and clocked him in the face with a mean right hook, sending him careening back.

Jaime turned his hand into the scanner device for yet another time today and aimed it at Blood Beetle. The eye shields on his faceplate glowed yellow and the device kicked to life.

“You guys are here?” Bart asked as Gavin helped him stand up. “Totally crash and all, just unexpected.” He looked over and saw Bria battling Blood Beetle.

“Apparently Jaime didn’t know we were messaged,” Gavin answered. “I’m guessing the Scarab did it on its own.”

“Doy!” Bart said and playfully hit himself in the head. He pulled his phone out to look at the message again. “That’s totally the Scarab, too technical for Blue!” He showed Gavin his phone. He quickly put his phone away and looked back at the battle. “What do you want me to do?”

“If Bria keeps his focus,” Gavin pondered and eyed up Blood Beetle. “Think you can use your powers to disable those tendrils?”

“Totally!” Bart exclaimed and took off at superspeed and moved behind Blood Beetle. He firmly placed a hand on Blood’s beetle-like backpack and vibrated his hand at superspeed, just like he did to disable Blue’s jetpack. In a matter of moments, the metal groaned and cracked under the pressure, causing the tendrils to snap off and fall writhing to the ground. They quickly dissolved into puddles of a strange goo before evaporating completely.

Blood Beetle growled and attempted to swing an arm back at Bart, but Bria grabbed it and kept him in place. She crushed down on his strange cannon and it cracked under the strain, reverting to his hand.

“Any luck?” Gavin asked as he came back to Jaime.

“Scarab says the beetle is implanted inside Paco,” Jaime said in defeat. He lowered his scanner and got rid of it. “If my beetle was impossible to remove, there’s no way to get rid of his.”

“Where is it exactly?” Gavin asked.

“It’s wrapped around his heart,” Jaime answered.

Gavin pondered for a bit, the sounds of flesh hitting metal prevalent in the background. “I may have a plan, but I don’t guarantee it will work.”

“What is it, ese?” Jaime asked, hopeful for any solution.

“If Bart can vibrate the armor away from Blood Beetle’s chest, Bria could stick her hand into Paco’s chest and rip the beetle out. No doubt she knows human anatomy like no one else. You vaporize the little bugger to make sure it’s completely gone, and I’ll lay on the healing magic like I did with you and Bart from before.”

“I’m sensing a lot of ‘if’ from this plan,” Jaime sounded skeptical.

“It would require a lot of precision timing and nearly all my magic,” Gavin admitted. “But it’s the only thing I can think of. Modern science and medicine may not be able to remove the beetle, but magic might be able to.”

“Then I guess we don’t have a choice,” Jaime gritted his teeth, trying to focus himself for what needed to happen next.

“Mentibus nostris coniungere,” Gavin spoke as his eyes turned black. A strange sensation washed over the group’s minds. It felt like a static shock jolted through all of them at the same time. _Ok_ , Gavin spoke telepathically, sounding a bit like an echo in the distance, _we have a tentative plan._

_Just what I needed,_ Bria responded. _Teen thoughts floating through my skull._

_Not that this isn’t totally crash,_ Bart said a bit apprehensively, _but why the telepathic comms?_

_We don’t all carry radios,_ Gavin answered matter-of-factly.

_Ok guys,_ Jaime interrupted. _Gavin has a plan._

_Right,_ Gavin said. _Bart, you need to remove the armor over Blood Beetle’s chest. Bria, when the armor is gone, you need to rip the beetle out._

_Rip it out of where?_ Bria asked with an almost childlike glee.

_Jaime says the beetle has wrapped itself around Paco’s heart,_ Gavin explained. _Don’t rip his heart out, just the beetle. Jaime will take care of the beetle and I’ll heal Paco._

_You got the juice for this Cethin?_ Bria asked, her internal voice laced with concern.

_I don’t know,_ Gavin admitted. _Make sure to give Alex a call if I need any help. Now let’s get that beetle out of Jaime’s friend!_

They moved like a well-oiled machine. Bria punched Blood Beetle square across the jaw, sending him staggering back. Bart zoomed in at superspeed and placed a hand on Paco’s chest, vibrating his hand as fast as he could. The metal groaned and cracked, breaking away to reveal Paco’s shirt underneath. Jaime changed his right hand into his plasma cannon. Bart ran out of the way while Bria stepped back in. She made her hand as straight and flat as possible, like she was going to perform a karate chop, but instead of a downward stroke, she thrust her hand forward with her strength. Her fingers pierced through Paco’s chest and disappeared in a splash of crimson liquid. For a moment that seemed to last forever, Bria’s hand in Paco’s chest, she found the beetle and with a sadistic grin, grabbed it, and pulled it free from Paco’s heart. The small red and black beetle came flying out of Paco’s chest, gripped tightly in Bria’s hand. Paco collapsed to his knees, his armor taking a bubbling liquid appearance before sloshing off of him and evaporating. Bria threw the strange looking beetle to the floor, where it was quickly enveloped in Jaime’s stream of hot plasma, vaporized to dust.

“Sana!” Gavin spoke as he ran forward and grabbed Paco by the shoulder to prevent him from collapsing to the floor.

Bria helped lay Paco down on his back, making sure to keep his wound facing up, to keep as much blood in his body as possible.

“Guess I need to call Alex for our ride home,” Bria sighed and pulled out her phone. “This turned out to be much more exciting than I thought it was going to be at first.” She pulled her contacts screen up and pushed on a person.

“How’s Paco?” Jaime asked, if his faceplate wasn’t covering his face, he would have been as pale as a ghost.

“Barely…holding on,” Gavin strained to say. “Need…to get him…back to…the manor.” Gavin’s eyes were completely black again and he seemed to be focusing intently on Paco.

“What do you mean I need a fire?!” Bria yelled into her phone. “One second.” Bria turned to Bart. “Can you grab the stuff needed to make a bonfire?”

“Back in a flash,” Bart said with a comically big grin and disappeared in a blur.

“Working on it,” Bria said into her phone. “Give me one second.” She paused her current phone conversation and dialed another number. “Hodgkins, get a fire going in the fireplace.” Bria rolled her eyes and looked at Jaime. “Mages and their damn spell requirements.” She reconnected her phone back to her call with Alex.

Bart reappeared, disappeared, and reappeared several times in rapid succession, making a decent pile of two-by-fours on the gym floor. He placed his hand on a board and vibrated his hand, and the board burst into flame. He ran back to stand next to Jaime. “There’s this crash place nearby that just has wood sitting around in stacks.”

“You mean Lowe’s?” Jaime asked as his mind was processing what Bart had said. “You have to pay for that hermano!”

The flames suddenly towered to be taller than a person and widened to form a doorway. Jaime recognized the blonde man step out of the fire and step onto the gym floor. The fire settled back down to its normal size.

“Odd place for a fire,” Alex said with a smirk as he scanned the area. His eyes fell on Gavin and Paco and his smirk disappeared. He walked over to them and surveyed what was going on. “Let’s get him back to Bria’s place.” He placed a hand on Gavin’s shoulder to get his attention.

Bria scooped Paco up in a bridal style hold, while Gavin kept a hand on him as they walked back towards the fire.

“Take care of this so it doesn’t burn the building down,” Bria said as she walked with them. “I’d hate to see our good work sullied by how the media would spin this.”

“Aperire ostium contra domum de Bria,” Alex spoke to the flame, which towered back to its archway shape again.

“Let me know how he is!” Jaime shouted to them as they walked into the fire and disappeared. 

The fire died down to its normal height again. Bart moved at superspeed and made a vortex around the wood, choking the oxygen out of the fire until it was a smoldering pile of wood and ash.

“Magic is totally crash!” Bart shouted.

“I hope Paco’s alright,” Jaime said as his voice wavered.

“Gavin’s magic saved you from being stabbed in the heart,” Bart reassured him.

_Incorrect,_ the Scarab said. _Your injury from the battle with the Whisper A’Daire did not puncture your heart. The wound was exactly two centimeters to the right of your heart._

“So he can totally heal Paco,” Bart finished. “What was that about paying for the wood? It was just laying in big piles, totally unguarded, any scavenger could have claimed it.”

“Where did Brenda run off to?” Jaime asked as his mind refocused.

“Not entirely sure,” Bart replied. “Want to go find her?”

“We probably should,” Jaime sighed and made his way out of the gym.

“Relax hair-man-oh,” Bart said and put an arm around Jaime’s shoulders. “We saved the day! And soon we’ll have the Reach off world.”

_Scans indicate the presence of more red crystal nearby,_ the Scarab informed Jaime.

“Where?” Jaime asked, as they passed through the dark hallways of the high school.

“Off world?” Bart removed his arm around Jaime’s shoulders so he could shrug his own. “I’m kind of feeling the mode when it comes to things actually off world.”

_The roof,_ the Scarab answered.

“Sorry Bart,” Jaime apologized. “Scarab says there is more red crystal nearby, on the roof.”

“Then let’s head up there!” Bart exclaimed, he looked around and didn’t see any signs pointing to a roof access. “How do we get to the roof?”

“This way hermano,” Jaime chuckled and led Bart out of the school. Once outside, Jaime put an arm under each of Bart’s arms, bringing Bart’s back against his chest. He willed the Scarab to deploy his wings and they gently took off into the air.

Bart wasn’t expecting an airlift up to the roof, but thank goodness he had his back to Jaime, because he couldn’t hide the blush on his face. The trip ended quickly, as the school was only a single floor, it was just spread out over a large campus. They both saw the large red crystal towards the edge of the roof, near the gym. Jaime sat Bart down and they moved over to the large jagged formation.

“Why do you think Blood left this here?” Bart asked and leaned his head to the side trying to inspect it.

_The material is a compound made by a plasma-like substance,_ the Scarab explained. _Its primary function appears to be disrupting the construction of nanoparticles, such as this unit. As such, it is hard to scan what it inside._

“Beetle says it’s basically meant to capture me,” Jaime explained and brought his hand up to his chin. “I have no idea why he’d leave a big hunk of this stuff up here, ese.”

“Something’s inside!” Bart shouted as he narrowed his eyes to try and look into the red substance.

“Not something,” Jaime pondered as he strained his eyes to try and look inside as well. “Someone!” He quickly realized what was going on. “Green Beetle is in there! I’m not the only one who is no longer working for the Reach.”

“How do we get him out of there?” Bart asked.

_A sonic attack would disrupt the crystal’s molecular structure,_ the Scarab offered.

Jaime morphed his hand into his sonic cannon. Bart stepped back, allowing Jaime a clean shot. Jaime fired the cannon, its blue rings enveloped the red crystal, followed by its familiar whirring sound. The red crystal shook under the barrage of sonic waves, until it finally cracked. With a hissing sound, the crystal broke apart and fell to the rooftop. Green Beetle came staggering out of his prison. Jaime quit firing his sonic cannon and Bart rushed forward at superspeed to catch Green before he fell.

“Gratitude,” Green said as he surveyed his surroundings. “I was not entirely sure where I would awaken at.” Green stood up on his own, taking his weight from Bart.

“So, what happened?” Jaime asked.

“A new Reach operative came to Taos,” Green explained. “I figured I would be able to fight him off on my own. I did not assume correctly, as the Reach was able to make a new weapon against us. Where is the new operative?”

“Taken care of!” Bart proudly exclaimed.

“What he means to say,” Jaime stepped in. “We were able to remove the Reach beetle from the person it had taken over. Not ourselves, but that’s what knowing the right people is for. Think you’ll be good to head back to Taos?”

“I am fine now,” Green said with a slight head bow. “Keep me appraised for when I am needed.” Green kicked off and flew back towards his house.

“Need help finding Brenda?” Bart asked.

“I got this one ese,” Jaime smiled at Bart. “I’ll let you head back home.”

“As long as you’re crash,” Bart said, wanting to make sure that Jaime was going to be alright on his own.

“I’ll call you later tonight,” Jaime chuckled. “Now get back to Central City and I’ll make sure Brenda is ok.”

Bart sped forward in a blur and gave Jaime a quick but firm hug before darting off the roof, down the wall, and in a straight line towards Central City.

Jaime kicked off the roof and his wings extended. He flew towards Brenda’s house and landed in an alley nearby.

_Scans indicate that the Brenda Del Vecchio is inside,_ the Scarab informed him.

Jaime retracted his armor and walked up to her front door. He paused for a second before ringing the doorbell. Brenda timidly opened the front door and peeked her head around it. When she saw that it was Jaime, she swung the door open and pulled him into a hug.

“Thank goodness you came!” Brenda cried into Jaime’s shoulder.

“I’d never leave you hanging,” Jaime soothed her as he hugged her back.

“Let’s go sit down,” Brenda said as soon as she composed herself. She led him through her foyer and into her living room. Brenda’s family came from money, and her house compared to Jaime’s definitely showed it. After they got comfortable on the couch, she turned to face him. “So, where’s Paco?”

“He’s safe,” Jaime said confidently. “It’s all very complicated, but he is currently safe, and I’ll know more soon.”

“Por favor explique Jaime,” Brenda said, her eyes starting to water again.

“Ok,” Jaime took a deep breath. “I don’t know everything, but Paco was somehow abducted by the Reach. They put a beetle, similar to mine, inside him. He was the one who captured you in the gym.” Jaime paused to make sure that Brenda was following along, when she nodded, he continued. “With a group of friends, I was able to help get the Reach beetle out of him and destroy it. The process did some damage to Paco, but he is being tended to by someone who was able to help heal me from a bad wound. He is currently in New York, and the process may take a few days to heal, but as soon as they contact me with any information, I’ll let you know.”

Brenda pulled Jaime in close for another tight hug. “Gracias Jaime,” she whispered.

“No problem Brenda,” Jaime replied, sporting a big smile.

“So, I guess my next question,” Brenda said as she pulled out of the hug and with an evil smirk. “Who is the hottie you brought with you?”

“Impulse?!” Jaime quickly sputtered, a blush creeping up his cheeks. “He’s just a friend.”

“That’s some pretty fast defense for ‘just a friend,’” Brenda teased.

“It’s not what you think!” Jaime again interjected.

“Again with the swift defense Jaime,” Brenda laid on the teasing. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a crush on this ‘Impulse.’”

“It is way more complicated than you think,” Jaime said, his face still burning hot with his blush.

“Well,” Brenda pondered for a moment. “You keep me posted on Paco. Feel free to also keep me posted on your ‘friendship,’” Brenda made sure to use air quotes as she spoke, “with Impulse. If he is going to be around more often, I’d love to meet him.”

Jaime simply nodded; he wasn’t sure if he’d have the voice to continue a conversation.

“You’re free to go now,” Brenda smiled. “Thanks again Jaime.”

“If you need anything, just call,” Jaime reassured her. He made his way out of Brenda’s house, dipped back into the alley, and took to the skies in his armor back to his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations
> 
> ¿Cómo?- What? (Used to ask someone to say something over again)  
> ¡Cállate!- Shut Up!  
> Por favor explique- Please explain
> 
> Latin Translations
> 
> Mentibus nostris coniungere- Connect our minds  
> Aperire ostium contra domum de Bria- Open a door to Bria’s house


End file.
